The Princess of Las Noches
by Revolver OtaconAj
Summary: Hello, Kurosaki kun! Do you like my new look?
1. A Terrible Fate

It was dark in her prison.

Well that was not entirely true. A minute amount of moonlight shone through the arched window above, while the slitted door behind her, beams of light coming from the torches cast a faint glow as they flickered with the wind. The cell itself was mostly empty with only the barest necessities (A bed, carpet, chair, and a bathroom) and nothing for the poor girl to keep her mind off her captivity.

There was something about this alien place that was unhealthy for the soul (especially for someone as kind and optimistic as Orhime). It was like she was a plant kept from away from sunlight, slowly withering away…

Orihime Inoue felt like a mouse with a cat's paw over her body. She was constantly afraid of what was going to happen next. With all these strange heartless men and women surrounding her in this brutal, kindless land, and no friends or even humanity around, Orihime definitely felt alone. None of the Esapda cared about her, and Aizen was just using her for her powers.

Orihime hated it here, and a small part of her regretted not being strong enough to fight Ulquiorra. That made her feel even worse. She was betraying her friends by having these thoughts, just like when she was jealous of Rukia and Ichigo's friendship. But was she also betraying them by helping Aizen? Aizen intended to destroy everything she cared, and Orihime was _helping him_.

What kind of horrible person was she? She had done this to protect everyone she cared about, and now she was having second thoughts? _No_. It didn't matter how miserable she felt, if her friends were safe that's all that matters.

There weren't any guards outside her cell. Aizen, no Aizen-sama was probably sure that she wouldn't try to escape or attack. All she had was the sound of silence.

After Aizen-sama had made her heal Grimmjow, she was taken to her cell. She was silent the whole way, her usual energetic peppy self, missing from her body language. An hour later Ulquiorra came back with new clothes. They were exactly like the other Arrancars clothes.

When she asked why she was given them, Ulquiorra said that she belonged to them, so she had to do as they said. When the fourth Espada left, Orihime cried, and showed tears that she wouldn't have even dared to show to the Hollows. She still put on them on, afraid of what would happen if she didn't.

That had been a few hours ago. No one had come to visit her since.

Just then the door opened, showering her with light. Orihime was temporarily blinded as she got used to the light again. As she rubbed her eyes, she saw the visage of an all too familiar figure.

"Woman." The fourth Espada calmly and emotionlessly spoke to her just like he did when she first met. He seemed to be that way to everyone. "Aizen-sama wishes to have a word with you."

The poor girl felt a tinge of pity for the hollow. She didn't want to know what it was like to have such a horrible view on the world…

 _"Woman don't make me ask again."_ His tone of voice was dull, but the threat was obvious without it having to be raised any higher.

Orihime got up and followed Ulquiorra out the door. As she went into the hallway, her mind wandered to every conceivable worst case scenario.

Experiments…

Starvation…

Being left alone with the creepy smiley Espada…

She must have daydreamed through the entire walk, as the next thing she remembered was she appeared in the middle of Aizen's throne room. The man himself sat crosslegged with some kind of giant twenty-sided die in his right hand. His sword was lying across his lap, his left hand holding the blade itself. Right beneath him stood two young arrancar bowing before her.

"Aivirrne san, Mallia san. Please leave the room."

"But Aizen-sama-"

"If you're worried about protection, I think Ulquiorra-san is more than sufficient." Loly and Menoly reluctantly left, but not before Loly shot Orihime a hateful glare.

"Greetings Inoue-san." Aizen's eyes twinkled with delight. "I hope you're enjoying your stay".

"Yes, Aizen-sama, everything is very hospitable." Orihime felt a bit digusted by saying that, but one wrong move could…

"Ulquiorra- san, please raise your Reiatsu as much as you can without destroying the room."

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

Orihime felt the room shake violently, as if there was an earthquake, as her mind shook with fear…

… But didn't notice how she easily weathered through it…

"Interesting. I think if I had the other three do that, I still would have the same results. Inoue-san."

"Yes Aizen-sama."

"How would you like to stay here forever?"

Orihime shook with fear, her mouth stuttering out nonsense as she fell to her knees. She didn't want to stay her! She wouldn't to try new foods, try one of every donut at the shop, She wanted to go into space, she wanted to spend more time with Tatsuki and Rukia…

She wanted to be with Ichigo.

But she couldn't say any of this. So after all the hesitation, so in the end she had to reply.

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

"Are you sure? You seem really close with Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends."

"N-no there's… No place I-I'd rather be… I want to serve Aizen-sama…"

Aizen grinned. "Good. Inoue-san do you know what I'm holding in my right hand?"

"N-no."

"This Inoue-san." Aizen hesitated before finishing the sentence. "Separates the boundaries between Shinigami and Hollow. And it also work's on humans."

Orihime got up and tried running out the room, only to be caught by the Quarto sword. She tried to struggle, and wiggle out of his arms but was instead teleported right in front of Aizen, as she was brought to her knee's.

"I thought you wanted to stay here forever? Have you really gotten tired of my hospitality so easily?"

"No! Please don't do it! I'll do anything you want, just don't do this!" Orihime begged, screamed and begged some more but her words fell on death ears as the heartless man prepared the Hogyoku. Moisture fell down her legs as she continued to struggle…

The orb glowed, and suddenly a hole was opened in her chest, and white completely enveloped her face. Orihime could feel herself choke and gag as her death mask smothered the poor girls face. She felt parts of her body get bigger, she screams get more and more distorted, as her memories started to fade to black.

Her last thoughts were of her friends.

 _Tatsuki…_

 _Sado-Kun…_

 _Ishida-kun…_

 _Kurosaki-kun…_

The mask then shattered along with everything Orihime was.

The sudden rise of reiastu demolished the throne room, and cover it in smoke. Even Aizen had felt it. From the harsh, deep breathing sounds of a women came sensual moans and mad giggling, as she tore off parts of her clothes to "fit the new her."

When dawn broke, her friends arrived, unware they were too late and that the beloved friend they had come to rescue was long gone.

…

 **Yeah did anybody else cry a little? I wouldn't blame if you did, I cried more than a little!**

 **Sniffle, sniffle.**

 **Why do I keep putting poor Hime in pain? I swear she's my favorite character, and I keep hurting her!**

 **Well to give you a little background, I had this idea along with Karin's Turn. However, I felt it would have been too dark for me to be able to right competently so I waited off.**

 **And when I was shooting ideas with Draconichero21, he like KT better and thought this was horrifying.**

 **But then I read A Predator Among Us. Honestly check that out after this one, she's a much better writer then me!**

 **So yeah… next update is either Fnam or KT. One of those updates is heartbreaking, the other one's heartwarming. I'm sorry but I can't tell you which is which.**


	2. The Princess And The Mantis

The dust cleared out the now decrepit throne room with a gust of wind, allowing the sun to fully shine on the poor girl.

The new Orihime Inoue looked more mature then old one. Her hair was fuller, and wavier. Her bangs had been pushed to side, hanging over her ears. Her bust was fuller, her back straighter and her other curves more pronounced.

Under her eyes, red half circles adorned her like bags. A couple fragments was all that remained of the mask. Ragged, twisted white Swatstika's were the only remnants of her hairpins, fused to her temples like molten steel. Her Shun Shun Rikka had clearly been fused with to her with neither of the kind fairies in sight. Her face was no longer an innocent one instead replaced with a Lascivious smirk and lewd eyes.

"So, Inoue san, how do you like your new powers?" Aizen asked, his satisfied smirk unmistakable.

Orihime purred at the compliment. "They feel good Aizen-sama! Almost too good…" Orihime ripped off her sleeves, tore open the top of her outfit to show some of her large cleavage and slashed open her skirt to show some of her legs. Orihime moaned at the feel of cool air of skin, and the thought of the look on Kurosaki Kun's and the rest's faces when they saw her. _Don't worry, once I teach you a lesson, I'll play with you for a long time, Kurosaki Kun! Sado kun, I wonder how kind you'd be a gentle giant when you learn what happened to me! And Tatsuki, you useless bitch, I don't need you anymore!_ Orihime giggled like the teen she once was, savoring her thoughts, as she planned what she would do with her former "friends".

Aizen showed no interest in Orihime's exposure. Instead, he examined her with scientific lenses. Her reiatsu was definitely magnicent, almost worthy of being placed in a rank above the top five Espada. To his surprise instead of one zanpakuto there was two, one a black tanto, the other a white daito, with the tsuba shaped into a flower. Patterning the hilts were black skulls and red teardrops, a clear indication of the weapon's purpose. These were not used to protect but to kill.

Aizen was curious about her change of personality. He thought that she would be a vegetable like Wonderweiss or that he would have to use Kyoka Suigetsu to reprogram her. Instead she had come subservient and loyal like an abused puppy. _This is a human's true form. Once you break them, they are no different than hollows._

He and the hogyoku must have a similar, cruel sense of humor. This caricature of Inoue was nothing like the old her, almost night and day when compared to the old one, a sick and pale imitation the opposite of everything she once was.

Aizen laughed inwardly at the thought of the look on her friends faces, but regained focus. Now with Inoue a hollow she wouldn't just be some useless ploy. She was now a slightly useful pawn like the rest of them.

"Aizen sama? What do you want me to do?" It was an innocent question for someone who was far from it.

Aizen decided it was time for a change of espada. Grimmjow and Nnoitira were a liability. He needed one of them to go.

Besides, he needed another guinea pig to see just how powerful Inoue was.

.

.

.

The sands were quiet with nothing but the twilight slowly breaking into dawn to hearken Nnoitira and Tesra back to their lodgings. They were both too brutal to appreciate this, but not too primitive to sense a fight incoming.

"Do you sense them? I'll take care of them if you-

Nnoitira slapped Tesra. "What the fuck I tell you about making me look weak? Do it again and I'll cut your head off." Tesra silently took the punishment and went out of his master's way. Nnoitira was excited. Perhaps Starrk or Barragon had finally got off their lazy asses, or even better maybe Harribel was there. Oh fuck yes, let it be that cunt.

He thrusted his index finger towards the ground, generating yellow waves towards his targets. Sadly, it appeared that he was going to be disappointed. They were five of them, but weren't espada, or even Fraccion. They were just five numeros. Four men and a _woman._

Nnotira smiled with his naturally unsettling grin. Perhaps he could have _some fun._

It didn't matter. If he just used his natural senses, he wouldn't have needed pequisa to judge how weak they were. By the way their reiastu flowed, it was clear that they have much control over their reiastu. Nnoitira

Two of the men were slashed open with their entrails dirtying the pure white grains before they could even release their swords. One managed to release his Zanpakuto, his body changing into a cobra right as he was cut vertically in half. The fourth one ran away, but not before Nnoitira cut his legs off.

"Oh Fuck my Legs! Please I'm sorry, I won't attack you again, just please have mercy!"

Nnoitira spat in his face and turned towards the bitch. He had no intention of finishing the coward off. He had already forgotten what they had looked like, bored out of his mind by how easy it was to take care of them.

Instead he faced the bitch. She looked barely thirteen with her short black hair and spectacle shaped mask remnants. She was even dressed as a boy, probably to fool herself into thinking she wasn't just useless like all the other cunts.

"What the fuck er you doing here?" Nnoitira spat at the girl. To his surprise the girl didn't back away in fear, but instead stood her ground. That pissed him off.

" _I said what the fuck are you doing here!"_ He raised his reiastu finally getting the result he wanted when she fell to her knees and started shaking. Nnotiira chuckled. "Hmm, just like a woman to cower from the man. 'Why don't you go back to your dolls cunt?"

The girl looked up at him, gave him a nasty glare and spat.

Nnoitira's blood boiled as he stared at the dumb bitch. Who the fuck did she think she was? He was the strongest yet some bitch was treating him like she was nothing? Nnoitira was so angry he didn't even use sonido. The Bitch was so weak she couldn't even attack back or run away when he kicked her.

The breath was knocked out of the girl as she flew backwards a few hundred feet before skidding on the sand. The girl tried to breathe only to find frothy and copper tasting stuck in her throat. She couldn't even move below her neck as she began to feel drowsy, her body lighter than a feather as the blackness hit her…

"What's the matter Nnoitita Kun? Do killing ants really make you feel like a man?" A familiar voice spoke behind as Nnoitira was about to laugh in victory.

Who da the fuck do you think you a- Nnoitira stopped in the middle of rage when he saw who exactly was behind him.

Standing tall and austere was the girl who Aizen had brought into Las Noches, no longer weak and cowering. Nnoitira was aghast. How the fuck did she escape? _Weaklings. Fucking weaklings who couldn't handle one woman!_ At the same time, he was relishing the opportunity to teach "Pet-Sama" a few personal tricks. Perhaps Aizen would let him guard her now that she had proven herself most untrustworthy.

When he took a closer look, he realized something was up. For one, the girl had white stars on her temples and sheathed swords…

Swords!

Aizen had turned the cunt into a arrancar. Why the fuck Aizen would turn her into one of them? It didn't matter though. He would just consume her like the rest!

"Heh, so Aizen was stupid enough to think you were useful to us. Did you roll over and suck his cock when he gave you those swords?" Nnoitira didn't need to go all out for this weak bitch.

Inoue made a pouty face. "You shouldn't talk about Aizen-Sama like that. No wonder he asked me to kill you!"

Nnotira was taken aback. What the fuck did she just say? Huh. She must have gone batshit insane. Like Aizen would ever replace him with _her!_

"Why are you just standing there?" Orihime said irritated. "I want to kill you! Don't tell me your scared!"

Nnoitira snarled and yelled incoherently. "You, dumb cunt! Who d'you think you're talking to! He threw his enormous double bladed scythe at her watching it billow in the wind as it was shot towards her like a bullet. _Yes, I'll take you out in blow, and if you're alive I'll teach you some of the tricks I had planned! You'll know your place when you're calling me master!_

Nnotira blinked and she was in front of him. With the look of a teacher about to punish a naughty student, in a blink of the eye horizontally slashed Nnoitira's cheeks open.

Orihime giggled. "I think that's a better look on you. At least you look prettier!"

Nnoitira just froze disbelieving. She cut through my hierro?

"What? Are you so stupid that you thought no one could ever make bleed?"

"No this isn't happening! No one can cut through my hierro! Especially A women!"

Inoue responded with a vulpine smirk. "Your move hun."

Nnoitira screamed enraged to the heavens. He dragged the chain of his crescent blade back towards him till he picked up the hilt. He hoisted the blade over his shoulder and sprinted to Inoue.

"YOU CUNT." Nnoitira swung his heavy blade at Inoue but she teleported behind him and slashed his back. Nnoitira turned around and kept swinging his blade uselessly at the dodging Inoue, not so much as cutting a hair on her lovely skin.

Inoue had no such problem. She masterfully dodged every blow (some with Sonido, others with just her natural reflexes) cutting and prodding his flesh as if he was a voodoo doll. When he thrusted his blade at her neck she simply tilted to the side and stabbed him in the shoulder. When he aimed for her legs she simply jumped and cut open his face, removing the eyepatch and showing his mask fragments. She hopped a few yards backwards when Nnoitira tried to cleave her in half with one big swing.

Nnoitira grunted, licked the wounds on his right arm and stuck his tongue out. Golden energy ebbed in a spiral as a Gran Rey Cero formed. Nnoitira wasted no time firing it. He was too mad to wait for it to properly charge. As the Cero sped towards Inoue, she cut it in half with her Daito without even blinking.

Nnoitira watched in horror as Cero fragments each exploded a few feet next to her creating enormous craters. "No! I've gotten stronger! How are you still standing?"

"Well obviously you're not strong enough to kill me. You really are a disappointment. I picked you over Grimmjow because you're supposedly the strongest. But it appears you're just as weak and pathetic as I thought you were."

Nnoitira laughed, refusing to believe the truth. He wasn't going to die to her! It would never, _never_ be a woman who kills him!

"Pray, Santa Teresa!"

A golden aura filled the air and shockwaves kicked up sand as Nnoitira released his true power. His wounds were sealed shut and his energy returned. He pulled out the scythes so reminiscent of the pincers of a mantis and once again sprinted towards Inoue.

This time she had to block his strikes. Up, Up, Down, Left, Right, it didn't matter he was winning!

Or so he thought when his scythes finally struck her. Instead of cutting off her head, they all just shattered into millions of little shards.

"Are you done?" Nnoitira just stared at the ruins of his weapons his mouth agape as he struggled to process what had happened. "Still shocked? I think it's time I smashed you like the worm you are!"

Orihime quickly and elegantly stabbed Nnoitira Gilga in the stomach. The blade glowed a golden aura as Nnoitira felt something explode in his guts. Nnoitira Gilga, Fifth Espada finally fell to his knees, at the mercy of one of the things he hated the most.

"You finally get it do you? You were never a match for me. I was playing with the whole time, and you didn't surprise me once. You really are a pathetic man. Now wait here. I need to find someone to cut my hair."

.

.

.

 _ **That was seriously the most awesome fight I had ever written! It's even better when you listen to the Tokyo Ghoul theme!**_

 _ **Anyway I know I'm a filthy liar, but I could resist! After I saw it explode with**_ _ **5 favorites and 11 follows**_ _ **I had to update this!**_

 _ **So How did you guys like this chapter? I honestly hope you are as satisfied as I**_ **was!**


	3. Motherhood

Nnotira tried to stand up but he couldn't move his legs. Every time he tried to breathe he just throw up more blood and bile.

He couldn't believe it…. That weak bitch defeated him!

 _No, how could this happen? I'm the strongest of the Espada and she defeated me!_

Orihime immediately turned around and started to walk off in the distance,

"HEY! DON'T YOU DARE RUN AWAY FROM ME!"

Nnotira focused his remaining energy on sealing his wounds, He would get that cunt, he didn't care if didn't survive this fight, he'd go down taking her with him.

As he tried to seal his wounds with High-Speed Regeneration, a golden light shot out of his wound. " _What the fu-"_ Flesh and organs twisted together, and sealed his veins shut. Nnoitira gasped for air as he felt a tight stabbing pain in his gut. In the middle of the hole, he could feel something moving.

 _What the hell did she do to me!_

"Hmm, look at yourself. You still think you can survive this. Her look of distaste and disgust turned into a serpentine look of delight. But don't worry… You just may."

"What the fuck are you talking about bitch? What did you put in me?"

Orihime ignored him and continued talking. "You were a bug before you were a Aranncar weren't you? It figures you would die like a pathetic Ant."

WHOOSH

Nniotira felt her before she saw her. She was straddling him, and licking her lips. Nnoitira tried to shout in protest but Orihime bent down, and kissed him. It wasn't really kissing as much as it was tonguing. Nnotira let out a shout when she bit into long lizard like tongue. He watched as his tongue was pulled then ripped out of his mouth, the number five missing…

Orihime spat it back out, watching Nnoitira cough up the blood that was spewing from his wound.

"Good now will you listen?"

"You're going to die like the bottom feeding scum you are." She poked the moving part of his stomach, and watched his squirm. "You see I put something… New in you. The only you're good for is the energy residing inside you and I'm going to take it. I once saw on TV a wasp that laid it's egg in a spider, and the baby ate it from the inside despite the spider… Oh it was very much alive."

Nnoitira eyes glassed up in shock, making Orihime giggle. "I think you have a idea of what's wrong with your tummy now! Though it will take your power and energy instead of your life." Orihime licked the blood off her finger tips.

"I always wanted to have a baby! Though this I think is more a creation of a god."

"Have fun Nnotira kun."

Orihime kissed her short-lived rival's cheek, smiling at the look of despair and fear on his face, stood up and left.

.

.

"Princesa."

Orihime heard a wheezy voice coming from the bodies. At first, she thought it was the wind (was there always wind or did Aizen create that as well?) but the voice kept repeating like a signal.

"Princesa, help me."

There it was again. Its location was emanating from the area Nnoitira killed those numeros. _Perhaps one of them is alive. Or there's a cute body I can remake._ Orihime wondered what were the extent of her abilities were. Was it truly in god's territory like Aizen suggested? She could create life but could she take it back? All Orihime knew was that she wanted to see just how mighty her divine powers were.

A quick Sonido across the sands got Orihime to the source. The ivory white sand was soaked with blood, and she could see a Hollow bug and lizard pecking at the lumps of flesh and bone with pieces of ragged white cloth.

 _Life must be like the Serengetti out here._ Orihime winced in anger at a memory of her watching a nature documentary with Tatsuki, crying like a baby when the Lion got a Gazelle. The voice interrupted her thoughts again.

"Princessa. Princessa…" The voice had come much closer to Orihime, it's jitterly whisper had turned into a chant, almost like a prayer. Orihime was flattered at the thought, but figured it was just a cry for help. One of the half eaten lumps moved and looked at her.

"Pricessa…. Help her… I'm sorry I ran… Please…"

Orihime turned around and saw a legless raven haired teen looking Arrancar with his mask forming a spectacle shape around his eyes. He was covered in white insects and the other scavengers of the white wastes. That kinda amused her so she smiled. Then she noticed that he was staring at her chest.

The guy was immediately struck in the head with a Bala, killing him instantly as his brains spread across the grains like jelly on toast. It wasn't that she was angry, it was more that she couldn't have any of her Fraccion distracted by her breasts all the time. It would have gotten annoying fast.

Though he did have good taste…

It didn't take long for Orihime to find her. She was yards away, laying spread-eagled on the ground.

She just like the boy, except her features were softer and smooth like baby's bottom. Her hair was short but seemed well combed and silky. She even reminded her of Kurosaki Kun's sister by her tomboy esque fashion sense. She was just what Orihime was looking for.

 _She's perfect._

Orihime knelt down and collected her reiryoku in her right hand. In no time a large ball of yellow energy formed, levitating a few inches above her pencil thin, delicate fingers. She touched the girl's caved in sternum and felt as broken pieces of the chest cavity start to reconstruct.

As the ribs slid back to where they were supposed to be she felt a heartbeat. Then breathing.

"Kaha! Guhk! H- Koph- how the H-hell am I-I still al-live?" the girl had a soft, yet cynical voice.

She looked up at the beautiful women smiling above her. Her bright aura gave her the sadly brief idea idea that she was dead and In a better place. Seeing her mask remnants dashed those hopes.

"It's alright hun. I'm here. My name is-

"Inoue san. You're the human that Lord Aizen brought to Hueco Mundo. "

"Not human anymore!" She chirped cheerfully, masking her surprise at the girl memory and refusal to use Aizen's honorific. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah, I guess… Wait where's Nnoitira!" She looked around in horror.

"Oh don't worry about that bastard, for all his bitching about his strength he wasn't even a threat to me."

"You… You… Killed him?"

"No he's still alive, but he can't harm anyone anymore." She winked at the tween.

The girl sighed in relief. There was something about the redhead that she trusted… She didn't know why.

When she tried to stand on her fixed legs and nearly slipped almost like she was a newborn calf and was just using her tendons and muscles for the first time. Orihime grabbed her by the waist and held her steady. She blushed at the sudden touch.

"Oh, so you're into _that_ are you? That's alright I was friends with someone like that. Though you're not as irritating." Orihime gave her a teasing smirk.

The girl waived her hands in protest. "No, that's not true, I love Grim-" The girl covered her mouth with her hands in protest.

Orihime giggled, a bit surprised at just how similar hollows were to humans. "That's okay your secret's safe with me."

The girl bowed in thanks. "Thank you for saving me... I don't know how I can repay you!" Her breathing was still unsteady but at least she wasn't tumbling on her ass.

That was what she wanted to hear. She could tell that that the girl was greatful for saving her life, and maybe even admired her for defeating Nnoitira. There was something else that surprised her though.

She was starting to like the girl.

"What's your name hun?"

The girl responded while nervously looking at her shoes.

"Calliera Catraviar. Arrancar # 76."

Orihime smiled and held out her hand. "Come with me."

.

.

 **15 Minutes later**

Grimmjow was and is a man of simple tastes. He loved only one thing. The thrill of the fight. That was reflected very much in his residence.

It was small with only four rooms. The cracked hole filled marble walls were indigo colored and the floor was an aqua blue covered by stained Persian carpets. The main room where he slept was also the largest. It was a mixture between a dojo and a target range. Grimmjow and his Fraccion had lived here after Aizen made them Arrancar. Aizen even had Tousen replace the training area's walls with Sekiseki, so he could train better.

Grimmjow sighed. Weaklings. Fucking weaklings…

He hated being under Aizen's control. The idea of having to bow and scrape to someone other than himself disgusted him. The only reason he continued to even listen was due to Aizen's power.

His fucking power.

It infuriated him. The fact that there was someone he couldn't kill pissed him off till he saw red. So, he had no choice but to accept his rank and kiss Aizen's ass for until he found a way to take care of him and the rest of his cowards.

He would never let anyone look down on him. He would consume every fucking one of them and they would know he was the king.

And then there was Ichigo Kurosaki.

The bastard had got him curious. He had never met a human or Shinigami he could say was close to a mirror image. He could tell there was more hollow in him then even he knew. Someone who could live for the fight… Someone he felt he had unfinished business with despite their difference in power.

And then there was the girl. He felt like he owed her for fixing his arm. But he had the idea that she looked down on him as well.

Fuck.

Fuck!

Enraged, Grimmjow fired a cero from his fist opening up a hole as tall as a basketball hoop. Fuck it. He was going on a walk. As long as he didn't fuck with Aizen's orders everything might be alright.

Plus, he felt Nnoitira and someone else fighting earlier. From what he could tell whoever it was had defeated him. He couldn't wait to rub it in his face.

He left the room and walked into the light. The Hueco Mundo outside Las Noches was prone to continent spanning sandstorms and dust devils. In here it was always sunny and slightly windy.

How fucking boring.

When he walked out in the sand he stopped when he noticed a figure in the distance. About twenty yards away, a was a girl with her front facing away.

More specifically it was the girl Aizen brought here.

He was at first shocked (how weak can his superiors be?) but oddly it turned to bemusement. The girl had escaped Aizen. She was definitely not the weak women he thought her to be.

Though it looked like Nnoitira had gotten to her first given her ripped clothes and shorn hair. He grimaced a bit disgusted at the creature Aizen ranked above him. Though that raised the question of where he was.

"So, you escaped." Grimmjow cracked a grin. "Well tell you what. I owed you a favor. How about I don't tell Aizen you were over here." He didn't want to offer to help her escape, unless she asked for it. He'd probably have to leave Hueco Mundo then.

But then again, if he left for The World Of The Living, that could mean he may have the rematch he wanted… And the idea of thwarting Aizen's plans brought a smile to his face.

The girl turned her head around to look at him and Grimmjow froze.

Something was very wrong about her.

For one her eyes were… They weren't the sweet doe eyes he had seen in her. The sclera was slate gray with slit pupils. The look in them were cold and hungry. And there were white pieces of bone on her temples…

Could she?

Aizen turned her into a Hollow?

Why… Was he afraid? His knees were shaking, his arms were trembling, his eye twitching. It was just one woman! And yet he, the King was afraid of _her_ , unlike any other.

The woman flashed a grin full of teeth. That was wrong too, it looked almost _predatory._

Grimmjow blinked and she was gone.

What the hell was that? Why the fuck did he freak out all of a sudden?

And Why…

Why he did he feel sorry for her?

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.

.

 **I would like to thank by name all of those who either favorited or follow my stories. Thank you hardoraku, Megaassassin's195, Chameishida, Dwiggy, FEFO3325, KimranReech, Melly Black, Narutofan3721, girlx901, nashmeira, pipirika, rajinfairy, stebehling, Starscape91, Blackrose1454, FlameDragonHime, Killjoy-Soviet1, Lee-Bleach, Nitrus7, Time Materia, freechimichangas. nanami-shihouin, soulsaberdragon, Chaos1011, KazumaKaname, NaruHinaFanboy, VoodooScreamQueen. Giulinarock, lirida15, and mizuki-ryuzaki. Your support is awesome and I cannot do this without you. Thanks to Racholasj, Draconichero18 and Warrior of The Healing Flame for all the advice and support.**

 **Anyway the little loli Orihime adopted was named after a Spanish architect named Santiago Calatrava, mixed with the usual gibberish I like to think is like what Tite Kubo would make up.**

 **That wasp I mentioned? That's a real animal. I hope I got grimmjow right, I like to think of him as sort psychotic Vegeta.**

 **Well an even more psychotic Vegeta.**

 **Anyway the call of the night and the urban decay has got me interested… In something odd. I'll try an elaborate later.**

 **This is Revolver Otacon signing out.**


	4. Arrival Of The Ryoka

**Dawn**

Outside Las Noches, in the perpetual darkness everything was quiet across the dunes. Small Hollows emerging and scurrying from their burrows or nests were the only disturbances across the rock littered desert. There were a few monstrous yet squat and cubic communication outposts and radar bases scattered about, used to sense any incoming threats from any intruders that potentially planned to invade Aizen's Fortress, whether they be Shinigami or Hollow.

A tear in the sky brought the sinister quiet to an end. The tear widened eight feet but for only a moment. Before it closed shut three figures leaped out into the sands.

The frames of the three were quickly illuminated by the moonlight. Their breathing was visible in the cold thin air. The Strawberry scowled and looked around, seeing taking in the desolation around him…

…And the enormous castle just beyond the horizon.

"Where should we begin to look?" Chad said while gaping.

Uryu joined in on his friends pretending to be statues. _Hollows made this?_

Ichigo I think we shouldn't just assume that's where Inoue is. We should look ar-

"Alright let's go." Ichigo ran towards the fortress with Chad following close behind.

"HEY! WHY AREN'T YOU LISTENING TO ME!"

"Hey Four Eyes we don't have time to search for clues! Every second we wait means Inoue is still in danger!"

Uryu sighed. This was stupid, going in without any knowledge of the Arrancars or even the dimension they decided to invade.

Then again Urahara couldn't have told them anything he had no answers for or prepare them for any powers that Aizen… And the Soul Society had proven they could fight threats they didn't know about.

And Inoue san…

An image of her crossed his brain, she was smiling and happy, her gentle reiastu soothing him and cheering everyone up like only she could…

That's why they were all here. The idea of her suffering because of these monsters was more then he, Chad or Ichigo could abide.

He didn't even want to think about her dying…

Uryu used Hirenyku to catch up with his friends. He didn't care if he was being rash. He would get her home _alive_ no matter what. No Quincy could stand someone Innocent suffering while they could do something about it.

Uryu glanced at Kurosaki and smirked. He no longer cared if his rival was arrogant, or even a Shinigami.

If he truly was willing to go to hell and back to save his friends, then all of that was irrelevant.

.

.

.

 _ **Control Room**_

Klaxons were going off in the control room. The Fraccion summoned the Blind Swordsman.

Kaname Tosen was one of the overseers of the security of Hueco Mundo. He had gladly taken the spurs when offered to him because all these Arrancar were no different than the wild barbarians of Squad 11. They didn't know anything about justice, and Tosen resented them despite of that they were necessary pawns in the creation of the new world.

Even a blind man could see that.

When he entered the room, despite the deafening and thunderous alarm, he could all the little noises of work. The tapping on keyboards, the beeping coming from computers, the still breathing… The world was not dark and invisible for the enthralled Shinigami.

The truth was it had never been so clear.

There were four main areas of observation, entirely for security purposes. One was the Forest of Menos where masked Adjuchas controlled the rest of the Menos through brute strength and shared fear. The next area of importance was the surface outside Hueco Mundo, controlled by the incomplete experimental Arrancar holed up in either rebuilt ruins of some powerful Hollow Warlord or a base designed by Aizen himself.

The next one was monitored by the Fraccion. It centered in the inside Of Las Noches itself. Cameras were everywhere, even in the Espada's private quarters, but there was admittedly a very minute of amount of blindspots, so Reiatsu sensors were necessary. Though it was much better than getting block by the continent wide stand storms.

The other one was the most important and was only observed by the top four Espada and the exiled Captains. They were Aizen private areas, labs where experiments were carried out. There were no cameras accessible by the Hollows. They were locked away with Special Kido Aizen created so that no one could interrupt or interfere.

The walls weren't soundproof though. Screams, sobs, and gore could be heard daily from that zone, creating a further deterrence for any Arrancar who would dare to rebel.

"What's the problem #31?" With the exception of Wonderweiss and grudgingly the Espada, he refused to give these monsters the respect of referring to them by their names.

"Tousen sama three intruders have invaded Hueco Mundo. One of them has been identified as Ichigo Kurosaki." His toned was forcibly respectful, knowing that he was expendable and that one hint of disrespect, disobedience, or even disagreement with the dark skinned soul reaper was more than enough to lose his head or worst...

"Are you sure #31? I never thought the boy was foolish enough to attack head on."

"Yes, Tosen sama, we checked the database and his face matched the software Aizen sama installed." He didn't try to say that #31 was to the left of him and he should know it by the fact they never change spots.

"Very well I'll tell Ai-"

"There is no need Kaname." A sonorous voice spoke behind Tosen. "I already know who has arrived." There was a hint of a pleased tone in his voice.

Despite having his sight stolen, Kaname could almost see the Hollows tense up and freeze. He even thought he heard some them suck in their breath. It always brought a smile to Tosens face when he felt one of these insects squirm. That was the dominance Sosuke Aizen naturally had over both death gods and mortals.

"Very well, are you going to call the Espada for a meeting?"

"Yes."

The screens started to flash brightly, and a shout rang out behind Tosen.

"Aizen sama! Tosen sama! Inoue Orihime has appeared to have escaped! "

Tosen sprang into action "Where is she? If you are lying hollow you won't see the dawn."

"She is near the palaces."

 _That foolish girl!_ Tosen was furious. Aizen had given her treatment underserving of a human, and yet she sought to be killed? Aizen put too much trust in Ulquiorra. Tosen pulled Suzumushi out of its sheath, but before he could leave Aizen put his hand on his shoulder stopping him.

"No Kaname."

"But Aize-

"Don't worry Tosen san. _That_ is indeed part of my plans."

Tosen looked perplexed. That was irritating but the Lord of Hueco Mundo hid it with a smile. Unlike Gin, Tosen could barely understand his true nature, or his plans. He was just an angry sheep following him blindly.

His strength though… Maybe even sheep deserved to be rewarded even when they were more than happy to be led off a cliff. And his lust for revenge and power could not be

" Come with me Tosen san. We need to have a talk. Privately"

.

.

.

 **Espada Meeting Room:**

Ulquiorra always was the first to arrive. He followed Aizen dutifully, almost like a dog would. Though, He didn't really care about anything, whether it be his life, or his comrades lives. His heart and soul was as empty as it could be. Even his body with its lifeless, almost reptilian green gaze, His short yet slightly unkempt dark hair, and his bloodless alabaster skin gave him the airs of a man who ultimately just couldn't understand or try to make the effort of feeling… _Anything._

And yet while he walking to the meeting room, he pondered if this truly the case. He may not be able to feel joy or sadness, but he could feel anger, irritation, and annoyance.

Anger at Grimmjow for his lack of loyalty.

Irritation at Orihime Inoue for her... " _Admiration"_ for Lord Aizen.

And annoyance at Nnoitira for his sick, sexual hatred for women.

Does this mean he was starting to become as weak as the woman was?

No, it probably meant that Aizen needed a change in Espada. He wouldn't say it to either his face or behind his back though. He would follow Aizen sama orders to the end, even if it entailed killing himself or even " _other things"_.

When he finally made to a dark hallway that led to an even darker door to his surprise he saw Grimmjow there. This was quite out of form for him. Maybe he had changed.

"Hey, Ulquiorra, do you why Aizen called us here? It better not be for another fucking review."

His hopes were dashed the second he opened his mouth. "No, I am not privy to his innermost workings. And it's Aizen sama."

"Heh. I'm not going to say it unless I have to."

"Let me remind you that your life and position is on a swords edge. It wouldn't be wise to take advantage of Aizen sama's good will."

Grimmjow smiled. "What you mean is that you want to be the one who does it. Go on try me right now, I'll kill the shit out of you!"

Ulquiorra's eyebrow twitched. "I don't need to waste time on trash like you."

Grimmjow's brow furrowed and he reached for sword. But before Grimmjow could respond, they both saw the pink haired scientist standing between them, smiling.

"Now, let's not be hasty! You wouldn't want to attack each other without Aizen sama's consent. One or both of you may be demoted. Or even better, one of you fight to the death and I get the corpse."

He didn't even try to hide his delight at the potential opportunity. While Ulquiorra just looked at him with indifference, Grimmjow was all but frothing at the mouth.

Though I wish you all would except my invitation to see what's in my lab while you're alive."

"Shut it Szayel, you fucking weirdo! I'd cero my own ass off myself before I go anywhere near your lab!"

Szayel made a faux face of hurt. "Now, why wouldn't anybody want to spend an afternoon with Moi?"

"I wouldn't want to hang out with jarhead either." Both the number nine and number eight made Grimmjow uncomfortable. It would be easy to kill them considering his rank, but Aizen had forbidden any infighting.

That was fucking annoying due to the fact he could sense the bastard was standing right behind him.

"You call?" Aaronerro finally said.

If the top three Espada and Zommuri hadn't shown up at that exact moment, they probably would have started a fight.

Starrk looked tired and bored, while Harribel looked irritated, but it was Barragon who was truly furious.

"Enough!" Barragon roared, his reiatsu drifting through the room to silence the arguing peanut gallery of men and Aaroniero. "All of you get in the room and wait for the boss!"

They all went in but neither of them had noticed that they were one member short.

.

.

.

Ichigo was starting to really hate his luck.

As soon as he and his friends had set off to Las Noches, a apparently endless horde of Arrancar had swarmed them. Many of them seemed like they weren't full Arrancar, many of them being deformed, almost like they hadn't completed their transformation into something purely humanoid and were in between a Hollow and Arrancar. If they weren't a barrier to Inoue, he may have felt bad for them.

To his surprise, Chad and Uryu had asked to take them on all by themselves.

The horde was running towards the dune Uryu had used as snipers nest. Ichigo could see that many of them still had most of their masks. Surely Uryu and Chad couldn't have gotten that good right? They can't possibly take on that many Arrancar by themselves? They were was crazy, they were only human

Ichigo was going to intervene but then he saw the proof of his friends power.

He saw the horizon in front of Uryu being completely blocked out by a maelstrom of blue arrows. They were fast, reaching the end of the horde in little more than two seconds. After the rain had stopped nothing remained but dust and craters.

As for Chad… Well he was surrounded by half a hundred bloody, broken, and bruised man sized bodies. He was fighting a human like hollow as tall as a giraffe. The half hollow looked tired and angry while Chad wasn't even breaking a sweat. When the hollow put his fists together and brought them down, Ichigo heard and could almost feel both the giants arms break.

All chad had done was blocked it.

Ichigo couldn't believe it _. Chad's gotten this strong!_

He saw Chad fire an energy blast that tore of it's right shoulder and most of it's upper chest. It fell back and didn't rise.

Afterword Chad and Uryu had met back with Ichigo and smirked at the dumbfounded look on his face.

"What Kurosaki? You think you're the only one who has gotten stronger?" Uryu bragged.

"I… I honestly don't know what to say but… Wait is that a kid?"

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.

.

 **So, how'd you all think of this chapter? I don't think it's my best but I think it's pretty good!**

 **I'm sorry inoue was absent this chapter, she'll definitely be in the next chapter I promise!**

 **Hopefully we don't get a repeat of the KT Incident. Ugh…**

 **Now, I think I should give you all a insight into my writing processes. I often have the entire story planned with the beginning and the broad strokes of the ending planned out in detail. I usually just make a bunch of plotpoints that I think are cool or interesting and then into the middle in a way that flows. As a result I feel completely free and can change anything at my leisure.**

 **But what about chapters you may ask? Well I usually have the next two or three chapter made into a rough draft. But you see, I'm really not that comfortable writing really long chapters because I feel the more I write the more it feels rushed or sloppy. So I just pick a convenient stopping and add what I planned for the chapter I'm writing to the next chapter.**

 **I just wanted to tell you all how my chapters work and part of the reason why they take so long. This is Revolver Otacon, signing out.**

 **P.S. Thank you WarZoneN7, PandyPie8020, and Melany C Adams for joining this madness.**


	5. Strength Of The Giant, Rage Of The Devil

"Welcome my dear Espada." Aizen had arrived and begun the meeting.

He sat at the front of the long table his smug shit eating smirk plastered on his face. The rest of the Espada were calm, almost statuesque with only Szayel sharing a smile.

Grimmjow was the first to realize Nnoitira was missing (his wide pearly white smirk was hard to miss). Grimmjow smiled. So, _that_ was the result of his fight. Oh, what he would have done to watch that fight, maybe even join in. The arrogant freak should have got what was coming to him years ago.

Wait.

If he had been killed then who exactly did it…

Inoue's face flashed through his mind, her hungry look sending ripples of fear through him. All of that quickly melted into guilt. Grimmjow snarled and clenched his teeth _. Even if I gave a shit there's nothing I can do for her._ He sneaked a look at Aizen, his smile unchanging _. Bastard_.

Zommori was the first to break the silence. "We are missing a member."

"Yes, where is Nnoitira?" Starrk replied in return. Unlike most of the Espada, Starrk actually gave a damn about him… But only a little.

Aizen kept his face in the very same smiling mask like visage he always had. Grimmjow thought he saw a glimmer of excitement in Aizen's eyes but it was gone just as soon as it appeared.

"I'm afraid Gilga-san will be unable to join us today. He has been replaced."

It was if a hornets nest has been kicked with the all the murmuring and uptick in noise. Starrk looked shocked and lost for words, yelling at Aizen "Who did you replace him with?". Barragon said "Good riddance, I never trusted that insect." Tier, Zommori and Ulquiorra were completely silent and unresponsive, though the tanned women did show some surprise in her stoic features. Szayel laughed and asked who replaced him. Aaronnerio didn't have a face so Grimmjow couldn't possibly tell what it was thinking, but judging from the rapid breathing it was probably thinking of snagging the corpse.

"Enough." Aizen raised his hand and reiatsu. There was silence.

"We have a new member. I suggest you welcome your newest comrade…"

Barragon slammed his fists on the table, the obivious sign of his displeasure. "Get on with it already boss! Who is he?"

Barragon looked like he immediately regretted speaking out of line, considering how he slumped back into his chair. But instead of showing any flicker of disapproval, Aizen looked…

Excited?

 _Fuck, why is he so happy?_ Grimmjow was starting to get concerned. Aizen was never this excited to announce a new member. What could it…

" _She_ is someone you all have met." Aizen coughed into his fist. "Inoue-san, you can come in now."

Grimmjow's heart skipped a beat. He turned his head towards the door and for the first time noticed someone's reiatsu behind it.

The door opened and the girl came in.

She looked exactly like how Grimmjow had seen in the dunes. Her ripped clothes showing off her curvaceous body, her viper like eyes, her fiery shortened hair... It was all the same.

That smile is different though. Unlike the predatory smirk she had shown him, this one was bubbly, cheerful, so _human_. She sat across from Szayel, and put her legs on the table.

"Hello my fellow Espada! I'm happy to meet all of you!" She bowed her head exposing a hearty amount of pale cleavage. She briefly flashed the same grin in the dunes and winked at Grimmjow.

Grimmjow blushed. He could tell by looking at her pleased look she was doing all just to fuck with him. _What does she want, damn it, I'm not interested! If she comes near me, I'll split her in half._

She must have been raising her reiatsu because he starting shaking uncontrollably. Or maybe it was the fear. _Great, that bitch is making me look weak and I can't do shit to stop her!_

He decided to look at his fellow espada's reactions. Szayel was twitching excitedly, his smile so wide it looked like he was about to split all his teeth in two. Starrk and Tier looked utterly appalled at what Aizen had done, glaring at him but not responding. Barragon, Zommori and Ulquiorra looked indifferent. And once again Aaroniero didn't have a face so Grimmjow couldn't read him.

"All right. Now that we have all had the proper orientation to your new member, let's get back to the matter at hand."

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.

.

 **Outside Las Noches**

The whirlwind of sand made an annoying sound. It must have been the cherry on top to this pain in the ass fight. Ichigo fired a Getsuga Tensho at Runuganga cutting him in half. However, that made it just simply split in two separate creatures. Uryu had fired at least a thousand arrows into it, turning the beast into simple grains, but it just reformed itself back to its original body.

"I shall not allow you into Las Noches! I stake my soul on it!"

 _Shit! How the hell are we supposed to kill it?_ He turned to the child slobbering and laughing on his back. "Nel does he have any weaknesses?"

"Water Itsygo, water! Runuganga can't stand water! Roooooom..."

"Nel this is no time to pretend to be a plane!" But Nel seemed to be off in her own little world, holding her arms straight at her sides.

Ichigo held in his annoyance at Nel. _We're in the middle of a desert. Where the fuck are we supposed to get water?_

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren." An all too familiar voice whispered into the air.

The titan of sand briefly turned his head towards the maelstrom of pure white air approaching him. The cloud of frost froze him before he could even blink. Before he finally crumbled into the wind, Ichigo thought he saw a look of shock on his face.

Out of the mist came two Shinigami, a red headed man and a raven haired woman. Ichigo was baffled. "What the hell are you doing here Rukia? You were-

"Forbidden?" Rukia rounded on him. "You're an idiot Ichigo! You'd think I'd leave Orihime here? My orders aren't as important as that!"

 _No I guess not._ Ichigo smiled. "How did you get here anyway?"

"Captain left the Senkeimon open." Renji answered for Rukia, his face as stoic as Byakyua. "Just so you know we could lose our jobs, or even our lives for disobeying the Captain Commander's orders." Renji threw a wicked smirk. "The Eleventh in me still thinks some orders are bullshit."

Ichigo hadn't appreciated them more then that moment. If they were willing to risk losing everything, including their lives to save Orihime… Then that just showed how deep their bonds had reached.

"Hey Ichigo. What's that Hollow doing hiding behind you?"

Ichigo realized that for the first time, Nel was completely silent. He in. She was acting more shy than usual." Oh! This is Nel. She's our guide to Las Noches."

Renj and Rukia looked at each other for a second and then back at Nel. Renji looked nonplussed. "You sure about this Ichigo? She's just a kid. And a hollow."

Rukia was a lot less aggressive. "Hi Nel, my name is Kuchiki Rukia. It's a pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand for Nel

Instead of greeting her back, Nel hissed, and jumped in front of Ichigo.

"Nel doesn't like You! What's your Relationship with Itsygo!"

Rukia looked completely confused. _My relationship with… Ichigo?_ Surely, she didn't mean-

Are you a massokist? Do you hit Itsygo's butt! Do you tackle him to ground and make sweet…" Nel started crying, her softball sized tears creating a small river beneath her feet.

Ichigo was dumbstruck. He decided that he would murder Pesche and Dondochokka for talking about these things in front of Nel.

"Nel! Why are you talking about that!"

"Nel can't compete with Rukia's lussius curves!" Ichigo ignored the unfortunate implication and realized that he didn't see Rukia's reaction.

He was very afraid. He very slowly inclined his head up. Rukia's face seemed stuck in a state of shock, her mouth wide open and her eyes wide like mouth. She briefly closed her eyes and raised her hand into a fist, looking at Ichigo with fury, her blush in place.

"Wait Rukia!"

" _Ichigo!"_ Rukia punched Ichigo in the face.

"Ahhh! Damn it Rukia, I didn't tell her that!"

"I know!"

"THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU HIT ME!"

They argued like that for a while until Chad and Uryu broke it up. Reminding them of the task at hand, they calmed down and continued on to save their lost friend.

.

.

.

 _ **Outside Tres Cifras**_

His Abeulo once told him that to use his fists for rage was ultimately self destructive. He hadn't listened till he saw his grandfather's true resolve.

After that Chad never imagined he'd ever use his fists for anything. Then again, he didn't imagine that heaven was Japanese or Hell was Spanish.

He could feel the heat of sand through the soles of his shoes in despite the wan sun above. The sky reminded him of Mexico. Even the masks of the hollows reminded him of _Dia De Muertos_ , the day of the dead… Though these spirits seemed a much more evil, twisted affair, then the ghosts they celebrated.

He was getting suspicious of the calmness surrounding him. Gantenbainne warned him about the true Espada, yet they had yet to show themselves. Chad wondered if perhaps they were waiting for them somewhere inside. Or perhaps Aizen had told them to wait? If so why?

Chad tried feeling for any reiatsu being hidden from him. He felt a few Arrancars but couldn't place where exactly they were. Frowning, he closed his eyes and focused as hard as he could, but the only result this time was unintentionally picking up his Nakama.

He could feel Ichigo winning a fight against some Arrancar. He couldn't feel Uryu but he could feel Renji, and his Reiastu seemed muffled somehow. As for Rukia…

…Her reiastu was fading fast!

 _Rukia, I'm coming. Hang on!_

Chad ran towards her location, going as fast as he can using his newfound speed. He ran and ran for what seemed like hours till he reached the ridged frost covered cube like structure containing Rukia's energy. He used his right arm to bust open the door.

He felt a large chill, his breath visible in the enormous room. For a moment, he was blinded by the light reflecting off the black ice, and nearly slipped on the floor below him. He covered his eyes with his left hand, fumbling around as fast as he could. He made it to a room that didn't impair his sight closing the door behind him.

It was a hallway, frozen solid with Icicles on the stealing. Chad was amazed by the power of Rukia's Zanpakuto. Maybe she should start making ice sculptures…

Chad heard a deep voice coming from a few rooms over. He quickly lowered his Reiatsu and listened.

"…The last of the original Espada. What a pathetic end you have come to. Death by a Shinigami. At the very least, I can finish what you started."

Chad threw caution to the wind and charged in. There a dark skinned man in a white uniform had a blade at the neck of the bloody unconscious Rukia, drawing a thin line of blood. Enraged Chad ran and drew his fist to punch the hollow-

The hollow vanished from Chad's field of vision. Chad didn't have time to be confused. He blocked the incoming slash on his back with his arm of the giant, barely receiving a bruise.

The Arrancar inclined his head towards Chad, a look of interest and vague confusion on his emotionless face. "Hmm, you're her comrade aren't you? One of the invaders perhaps?" Zommari disappeared again, this time succeeding in creating a superficial cut on his chest.

"You're a human. I'm sure of that… But there's something _hollow like_ about you. I've never encountered one such as you." Chad saw two of his foes in his peripheral vision, ready to stab him in the sides of his chest. He blocked both blades with his arms, an inch of steel embedding in the biceps.

"I never thought I'd meet a human this strong. You are meant to be food, not to be fought with." Chad realized that the two were clones of the same enemy. He vanished again. Appearing in front of him, the dark skinned hollow bowed his head, and pressed his hands together like in prayer.

"I suppose I'd should introduce myself in the Shinigami manner. I am Zommari Leroux, Espada number seven of Lord Aizen's army. May you give your name now?"

Chad simply glared at Zommari, refusing to give the creature the courtesy.

"Hmm, are you unable to speak? Or are you being defiant?"

"Those clones. Were they a movement technique? Like a Shinigami?" Chad finally responded.

The hollows yellow eyes lit up. "I never expected such an astute observation from a human. I would have thought that you would think it was magic."

The hollow vanished once again, and came at Chad. Chad glanced and froze in shock. There were now at least five clones surrounding him. The three of them slashed above his knee, under his left pectoral, and below his belly button. Chad acted fast using his devil arm to punch through one of the quintuplets and make an opening.

Chad went down on one knee, breathing heavily. Not since that crossdressing captain had he fought to this point. He glanced at Rukia. _I can't fight with her in here._

Zommari made a move to impale Chad, but Chad disappeared before he could. Zommari eyes went wide and he heard a crash behind him. There was a hole where the Shinigami had been.

Zommari raised his brow. For a moment the human's speed was better than his own. _Hmm, must have been pure luck._ Even so he never expected a human to be this strong…

He used perquisa to locate the human. He was already far enough away to warrant the use of Sonido but Zommari wouldn't give this insolent bug the privilege.

He sheathed his sword and jumped down the hole. He calmly walked through similar ice covered hallways before he made it to a medium sized five sided room filled with frost covered clothes, jewelry, and other apparel. In the middle stood Chad.

"Where's the Shingami?" The eighth Esapda inquired, still stoic but curious. "She's doomed. After I kill you I'll find her and she will join you in death."

Chad smiled and cracked his knuckles.

"Ahhh, you were holding back because of your comrade. Well, human it will be a thousand years before you could ever hold a candle-

WHOOSH. Chad disappeared.

Next thing Zommari knew he had the wind knocked out of him. He could feel intense pressure breaking several ribs, all coming from a white fist. Zommori was dumbstruck. For a moment, he had slipped through his perquisa.

The human kept punching him, his hierro protecting him from being broken in half. Enraged the hollow gritted his teeth and used Gemelos Sonidio again. However, Chad was quicker, taking out all five of them without having to dodge or block. His speed was incredible.

The final punch broke Zommari's neck, the shockwaves sending him flying through three walls, before seemingly splattering across the fourth one.

"You shouldn't have threatened my friends." Chad stopped to catch his breath. It had taken Chad all he had to just keep up with it. Chad walked away hoping to get Rukia out of here. He had a cursory knowledge of first aid but other than that he would need serious help.

CRACK.

Chad froze. He heard severe hacking, and gasping coming from behind him. Then a scream of rage.

"AHHHHHH, HUMAN! HOW DARE YOU TEST MY STRENGTH!" His sword was floating in midair and his palms were together. "I'll devour you piece by piece, and scatter the dust of your bones to the wind! Suppress, Brujeria!"

His sword folded along with his neck, before his entire form disappeared into thick white smoke, The smoke then turned into a slimy liquid, falling to the floor and revealing the abomination beneath.

Chad was reminded of a Temari ball, all bright and colorful. Except Temari balls weren't made of flesh and covered in yellow eyes.

The hollow had regained his composure. "I see you have frozen in fear. That is the natural way of the world. Everything has a master that governs and control's their destiny. The masses are governed by their king and the king by Gods. The clouds are enslaved to the will of the winds. The moonlight is nothing without the light of the sun." The hollow pointed the palm of his hand at Chad. "And so it is over hollows and humans."

The eye pulsated and the pupil grew as large as a dinnerplate. Chad was wondering what was happening when Zommori waved him over. Or rather his arm over.

Chad stared at his arm in shock. There was some kind of black flower like mark tattooed on his devil arm. But wasn't what worried him. He wasn't doing anything but _his arm was outstretched_ at Zommouri, almost to the point of dislocation.

"Do you understand now human? I've taken sovereignty over your arm."

Chad panicked and grabbed his arm. He didn't know the extent of the monsters powers, but he couldn't let him take control. He wondered if the hollow had the same power over broken and paralyzed limbs. Chad wasn't sure but he had to chance it.

"UHHHHHHHHHHH!" Chad ripped the arm out of its socket without ripping it off. It hurt but his hunch was correct.

But how could he fight if he couldn't use his arms?

"Just like an animal to bite off its owned limbs after being trapped."

Chad ran out of the room. The hollow was too damn strong. If he had stayed in there he would have died for certain. He looked behind and gasped.

Like a blue comet, El Directo was following him. Chad hid behind the wall, huffing heavily. El Directo didn't follow him but went straight down the hallway, busting a hole as tall as a basketball hoop in the air.

How could he had been so stupid? He had charged in without thinking, using his strength arrogantly. The truth was it had taken Chad everything he had just to bridge the distance between their powers in _his unreleased form_. He didn't even have to try to kill him. All he had to do was blink and watch him desperately try to struggle against his own body, and have him take himself out.

Chad got ahold of himself. He had to use his wits to get through this.

He knew that the bastard didn't have any blind spots, and could take over anything living. But judging from the distraction from El Directo, he couldn't see through walls.

His arrogance was another factor. If he had gone full out, Chad would have died immediately and Rukia wouldn't be far behind.

Chad clenched a bit of wall, and started to pray for a plan.

.

.

.

A minute passed.

Then two.

Then five.

Then ten.

Then fifteen.

How long was he going to have to wait? The human wasn't smart enough to come up with a plan, so where was he?

Maybe he had ran away. If that was true, then it was a futile act.

"How long are you going to keep me waiting?" Silence answered him.

Irritated, he clapped his hands together and got a fix on his spiritual pressure. The fool was only a meter away.

"So be it. If you are too busy cowering in fear, then I'll come to you."

The dark skinned hollow hopped and rolled towards the hallway. As he neared his enemy's located, a sudden mist moved with the wind. It was knee length and was slowly rising. Zommori was perplexed for a moment but regained focus. If the human thought he could scare him with some odd trick…

Eventually the mist covered the entire hallway, blinding Zommori from seeing anything within three feet of himself.

"I have a question for you hollow. Does it rain in Hueco Mundo?"

The acoustics of the room prevented Zommari from ascertaining the intruders location. His Reiatsu was gone as well. How was that possible?

"I'm guessing not. You don't seem to be very educated in the ways of the world. If so you would have known you were at a disadvantage."

Zommari growled. "Show yourself. Fight me head on!"

Chad chuckled.

"Hold your insolent tongue!" Zommari focused his energy on pinpointing the source of his voice.

Suddenly he heard a crash behind him. Before Zommari could defend himself, he felt six of his eyes explode. An intense cold burned his wounds. He looked down and saw a pile of ice and rock peddles at his feet.

YUHAAAAAA! Zommari bounced towards the location, incensed at his injuries. As he sped towards the location, twelve more eyes were destroyed by the rocks. What Zommari didn't know was that Chad had used his Reiastu to heat up the ice, and create vapor. Chad had realized that when he focused his Reiatsu on his palms, it combined with his natural body heat, and melted the ice.

And the reason why Chad's Reiastu was gone, was because he was using his own natural speed and strength, created by his training with Renji. His skills at baseball didn't hurt either. Many people thought that he was stupid but he remembered everything his teacher's taught him from his Abuelo to Ochi-Sensei. They probably thought the same about Orihime.

The only problems that the vapor would only last for so long before dissipating in the air. And Chad couldn't get too close before being seen…

"Enough! Show yourself human!" The hollow raised his Reiastu and the vapor was blown away.

 _Shit!_ Chad could only think of one card he had left to play. He pointed his fist back and fired an El Directo, bringing the sunlight in, and briefly blinding Zommari's many eyes,

Chad couldn't waste any time. He quickly put as much energy as he could into his remaining arm, and ran full force at the Hollow. Zommari got his vision back to see that Chad's shield like arm was only two inches away from him.

Zommari panicked and rolled himself up into a ball. It wasn't enough to avoid the rage of the hollow like human.

Chad elbow checked into the skull in the middle of the ball, breaking through the shield of flesh and bone, and into Zommari's neck. The concussive force ripped the ball apart, splattering blood and viscera everywhere. Zommari's head threw into the air, his last thoughts being of confusion and shame, as reflected in his eight dying eyes.

 _It's over… I won._

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 **.**

 **Woohoo! Chad's a badass again! I've been really excited to write this fight for about three chapters now! Very Jojo esque don't you agree?**

 **And don't worry, Rukia will have tons of badass moments! I hope this chapter came out good. It's longer than usual.**

 **Thank you for everybody who reviewed and loves my stories! I hope you'll have as much fun as I did writing them! Without you guys, I am nothing.**

 **See you next chapter… Or next story. (;**


	6. Beginning of War

**Soul Society**

There was a rather odd, motely herd of soldiers waiting for their war to begin. They had come here in the dying embers of dawn to receive orders to either invade Hueco Mundo or standby and wait for Aizen to attack their kingdom.

Either way it would be a battle that hadn't been seen in generations.

They couldn't be more different. There were men, women, a child, even a dog. Some were noble born scions of proud ancient houses distinguished only by either their history, their honor or connection to the Royal Family, others gutter rats from the Rukon District who became Shinigami in their source of food and shelter. But all were members of the Gotei 13 stormtroops, nearly all fanatically loyal to protecting the Soul Society from Aizen's deprevations. The leading Captains themselves being distinct in their white Haori showing their squad's jet-black sigil stitched into the back and proudly displayed.

The sun brightened up the Cyan sky, creating palpable waves of heat that their Shihakusho absorbed like a dry towel cleaning up water. They were at Sokyoku Hill, the sight of many final acts of justice against traitors of the divine state. It also was large enough for each squad to be in formation.

In front were Head Captain Yamamoto, his pleated beard swinging in the wind, as his west loving lieutenant stood by his side. In rows of two in descending order were squads two through thirteen. Some were anxious, soft faced, green graduates that had yet to stain their blade with anything other than the blood of bestial hollows, while others were more rough along the edges. Most however were somewhat in the middle.

They were chatting amongst themselves when the Captain Commander finally gave the orders. Silence was the only response then.

"Shinigami of the Gotei 13!" Yamamoto roared, his booming, authoritative voice traveling along with his suffocating Reiatsu in the wind.

"The threat we face is greater than any foe we've faced in over a thousand years. Some of you may remember, other's may not. However, they have underestimated one thing. And that, is the will of the Soul Society. The demonic abominations the traitor has created have no sense of honor, of respect, or comraderie. The idea of shedding your blood, of sacrificing your very soul to protect something greater then yourself is something unknowable to them. That is why we will show no mercy to Aizen, his fellow traitors, and the hollows surrounding him! They are worth no more than the cockroaches beneath your feet. And you must treat them as such. Let them know that the arrogance of setting a single foot inside the Soul Society will be was punished with their flesh and bones. The war begins now!"

Cheers went up from the soldiers, mainly from the lieutenants and lower. The captains were completely silent and Soi Fon even whistled as loud as she could to get the rookies of her usually respectable stealth unit to quiet down.

"A team led by Captain Unohana will invade Hueco Mundo, to rescue Ichigo Kurosaki. We owe him a great debt that must be repaid, regardless of his immature actions." Yamamoto nodded to Unohana and she stepped forth, her lieutenant, the best of her squad, the third seats of the 13th division (They were both good great at kido), and the captains of Squad 6, Squad 11, and Squad 12 close behind.

Kurostuchi grinned widely, his yellow teeth being reflected along with his blue and white Pharoh like outfit from the sun. He had managed to convince Yamamoto to force Kisuke Urahara to give him and his Squad the plans of his Gargantua opening spell in exchange for rescuing the substitute, and his friends.

Of course, much to Mayuri's irritation Kisuke had smiled, made fun of his outfit and said "Try not to screw up the spell!" Kisuke was an asshole like always's.

 _Kisuke Urahara, you'll rue the day you freed me. I'll make you see that I've surpassed you even it takes a million years…_ Kurostuchi turned to his daughter. "Nemu! Tell the drones to bring forth the gate. And be quick about it!"

"Yes, Mayuri-sama."

Kurostuchi smiled even wider if possible. Once he had gotten the spell, his tinkering creativity got the best of him. The scientist was filled with pride for his creation, it could be something more useful to those simpletons then a gigai. He asked himself, what if he could create a senkaimon that could travel to any world? If a gargantua could tear the fabric of space between dimensions, why hadn't it been studied sooner? Not only would Shingami be able to enter anyplace they needed regardless of time, or security but they don't have to use Kido to open it! Plus, the tear was customizable along with the gate.

Being carried on an enormous cart was the grotesque monstrosity of a gate. When Isane and Kiyone saw It they visibly gasped and turned green. The portal appeared to be a malleable combination of mashed together wiry tendons, bloodshot eyes, pulsating tissue, and bits of bone.

"Ughhh! Can't the captain make anything that isn't gross or weird?" Kiyone said her hands covering her mouth.

" _What was that?"_

"Uh-uh nothing, nothing at all!"

Mayuri scowled and reached for the remote. He really wished his work wasn't as censored and rejected as it was. Sure, when there was some attack or minor threat, he was given more freedom. But even that was a bit restricted. Perhaps this would be the break he needed.

Unohana secretly threw Isane an amused look. She couldn't stand that the wretched clown led Squad 12. Everything about him disgusted her, but it was his inhumane treatment of souls that got to her. He was everything that was a anthesis to her rule as a healer, and if she hadn't taken an oath he'd be dogfood by now.

Finally, everything was prepared and ready to go. As the gate opened, they could see the ivory sand dunes of the hollow desert in front of them, staring back at them endlessly. Unohana went in first followed by her lieutenant and strike team.

But before the other three captains could follow, the portal disappeared. It was like watching water going down the drain

"WHAT!" Kurostuchi pressed the button on the remote repeatedly, his shock turning to an annoyed fury. "Nemu! What's going on? Did you fuck up my creation?"

"No, Mayuri-Sama." The usually monotone tone of Nemu Kurostuchi had a hint of fear. "There appears to be some interference-"

SLAP

Nemu recoiled from the smack but before he could do anymore the head captain interrupted.

"Enough! Captain kurostuchi, know your position. If your machine has been broken, then I suggest you fix it quickly. While I do not doubt Captain Unohana's combat expertise, I'd rather not create any unnecessary casualties." He turned to the three remaining captains. "You three will join the army at Fake Karakura Town. Perhaps this is a blessing. Now it'll be neigh impossible for Aizen's forces to win any sort of victory!"

Kenpachi sighed, disappointed that he had to wait to fight. Suddenly Yachiru peeked up from his shoulder. "C'mon Kenny! If you just sit there all mopey, Gramps will send you away!"

"Ugh, you're right." Kenpachi ran but not before Yachiru excitedly waved back to Nemu. Nemu in turn shyly smiled and meekly wave back. Mayuri was irritated enough without Kenpachi's pet corrupting his creation. So, he grabbed Nemu by the ear and shunpoed to his other masterpiece.

Yamamoto inclined and noticed that Byakyua was standing still. With impossible grace he kneeled and bowed before the head captain.

Yamamoto-sama. I ask you're permission to go the World of the Living and ask Urahara-san to-?

"Absolutely not." He slanted his head to the left, slight curiosity engraved in his ancient features. In a thousand years, he had mastered the ability to read the expressions and feelings of most souls, whether wicked, decent, or neither. Byakyua Kuchiki was no exception, and in spite of his usual unearthly icy stoicism and almost divine arrogance, there was an ever so brief hint of fear, regret and anger.

"Tell me Kuchiki is it care for your sister and lieutenant that makes you doubt my orders?"

"No, Head Captain. Lieutentant Abarai and my adopted sister's disobedience will dishonor the Kuchiki Clan if they die. I'm am simply wiping away the stain before it appears."

"Any dishonor will be your doing. You were the one who permitted that they disobeyed by escaping without punishment or response. Their death's are on you, Byakua Kuchiki."

Byakyua eyes were filled with shock but quickly returned to their normal emotionless gaze. "Let me remind you that as head of one of the four noble families we hold precedence over the Gotei 13 and the Central 46. You cannot disobey."

Yamamoto gave the young prince "the look", the stare of dread, that soul piercing gaze that imbedded itself into his soul. It sent ripples and waves of uncontrollable fear into his heart and the hearts of enemies and foes alike.

"Your power and the power of the noble clans are meaningless in wartime. I have allowed the Sereitei and Gotei 13 to be made this way because any other alternative not only could risk upsetting the natural order but bring chaos back to the Soul Society.

"However, in times of conflict I am the ultimate authority as I have the experience and power to protect that order. Now I suggest you do as I say. I will not permit any further disobedience regardless of what seed you sprouted from."

Byakyua had no choice it appeared. He bowed then used flash step to get into position, full of unease in his heart. It would be his fault if she…

If she…

 _Unohana… Bring back Rukia. I don't know what I'd do without_ _her…_

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 **Inside Szayel's Lab**

The scientist admired himself in the mirror covered room, unable to choose which outfit to ware for his _Play_.

Should it be the pinstriped short sleeved shirt with the fingerless gloves and half cape? How about the knee high Tabi? The half jacket? Should he wear the normal hakama or the cutoffs? The normal sash, the sash with pearls or opals? There was so much to choose from!

He wanted this to be perfect. The morsels who stumbled into his palace were an amusing bunch if very, _very_ , **very** annoying, plus were packed full of data he had yet to digest! He may need that data for his special project and maybe even a few new ones that suddenly sprang into his mind.

Oh, he wished he had access to Aizen's laboratory. He had been there a couple times but Aizen didn't let him take a look at his research _. He probably thinks I could turn on him, however idiotic that is. Well, at least I can do whatever I wish with my work._

So many inventions, so many projects, so many creations, so many fond memories had come from this place. The orchestra of screams, moans, cry, choking death rattles, crushed bones, and voided bowls had been turned into a sympathy, an lustful theater that had yet to be matched, even his vague, murky memories of being a Adjucha to his first cautious, agog experiment as a lowly numero. He would hate destroying this place with his release. Aizen had let them design it to their exact specifications, even if the languid slaves of the refuse known as untamed Gillians and Adjucha's had to die of overwork

But the lab was more important. The lab was where all the magic happened, where he was happiest the most, where he felt truly orgasmic. As long as he had information and data he could consume and defeat anything in his pursuit of sadistic knowledge.

He was expecting some goodies from that ugly Aranncar with the mask still on his face. From what he could tell all the ninth, seventh, and all of the privarion Espada were dead, their corpses just waiting to be dissected. They would make a great hoard along with the Quincy and intruders. Their powers were all unique and needed necessary testing. He'd probably have even more once Aizen had destroyed the scum and took his place on the throne of god.

Well _their_ god. Szayel had no deity to pray to. Humans and Shinigami were such gullible beasts to believe in any sort of higher power, any force that cared about it's experimental leavings. It was the hollows who knew the truth. The only true gods were the ones with power to shape their destiny without fear of reprisal or empathy, to change the world in their image, to have control over death and creation like Aizen, Barragon and himself.

Suddenly, eureka struck him. The cape! It was simple but quite fabulous! He settled on his normal outfit but with a half cape.

Suddenly he felt an alarm go off. It was both a sound and sensation, as Granz had started a final trial with a type of polyp that was made out of the souls of Menos . When laid it set out spores that acted as a motion sensor to Reiatsu and it was psychologically linked to Szayel and served as a wireless reciever and alarm, alerting Szayel of any unwarranted use of his lab. But this was also part of one of his most recent experiments…

To be exact it came from a device that could open, and close a gangatua anywhere, even it someone was trapped in the tear. It was much more civilized then simply tearing one open with his own hands.

And what the invader's didn't know was that Szayel had planted some of polyp's in the gargantua to get information on his fellow hollows. Spiritual pressure. Right now a large group of powerful beings were stepping into the tear.

 _Tsk, tsk, I was gonna give them credit for managing to open a gargantua, but it appears they believe i'll just let them invade Hueco Mundo. Aizen would kill me if he found out I let a couple captains waltz and rescue those riveting yet verminous insects here._

Behind one of the mirrors was a gilded elevator that led to his lab. Szayel opened it and awaited the pleasure of once again hearing the screams of his test subjects.

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 **Outside Aaroniero's Palace**

Chad had been used as a pack mule since middle school. The teachers would ask or he would volunteer to carry or hold cleaning supplies and their personal belongings. Even the heaviest load had never been much of a problem for him. Rukia was no exception.

His friends and classmates were shocked at his herculean strength, so he was equally praised and insulted.

Her petite child like frame and blood loss made her as light as a feather. Even with his stiff shoulders and taunt biceps Rukia still weighed only slightly over a hundred pounds.

This was for the best. After his victory Chad had decided to carry the unconscious young women towards Renji And Uryu for help. Renji hopefully knew the healing kido that needed and he had no doubt with Uryu's father being a doctor that he knew better first aid then he did. That and his stitching may be in handy this time.

But the only person who could really help them was Orihime. Her ability not only repaired injuries but brought back stamina as well. And seeing her smile or go on one of her infamous rants… Well, they seemed to make the worlds problems a bit lighter.

They'll find her, they have to find her. They will tear this whole citadel asunder if they had to, to save her. And if they found that Aizen or his beasts had hurt her in anyway, Chad decided that in that case he may forget his oath.

Chad been looking down running for the past ten minutes, not really paying attention to his surroundings. The artificial sun seemed to create a slight warmth with very little but still noticeable draft.

 _Hmm. Aizen must have his palace temperature controlled._ Probably based on his own likes or preferences. Chad noticed that along with the monoliths and cubes was an enormous figure in the distance. But apon taking a closer look after his shaking halt he realized that it was one of those statues made by naturally by erosion. He could tell by its color that it was sandstone. But as he inched closer the ground started to shake.

 _What the hell?_ A deep, scratchy, rumbling sound came roaring from the stature as the earth split and cracked towards the giant. At the last moment, before the burrowing monster reached him, Chad jumped away, creating a small crater exposing the mask of the evil spirit. But as Chad leapt in the air, Rukia came tumbling from his shoulders. Chad panicked but used his momentum to flip and catch Rukia before landing on his feet.

However this didn't go without injury. Chad had put all his weight on his left leg, so while the limb absorbed most of the blow, it also fractured his foot.

Chad had no time to let the pain sink in though. Towering above him was a monster made out of sand like Runuganga. However, this creature was significantly more human like, having a horn covered rentangular forehead, a beak like nose, no eyes but eyebrows, an enormous cleft of a jaw with banana shaped teeth and finally armbands, shoulder pads and rondels made out of bone. It unhinged its jaw, exposing a second inner mouth and dived like a whale toward Chad and Rukia.

Chad once again jumped out of the way in the nick of time, and slid towards an enormous nearby red cylindrical building and gently set Rukia down beside it in a shady part. Chad ran towards, his pace moderately gimped by his slightly lame leg. He closed his white fist and tried to strike the hollow right through the middle but the sand parted before he struck his target. Before he knew it his fist was through the hole.

 _Why did he do that?_ Chad got his answer when the hole in the creature closed like a beartrap.

 _Oh shit!_ Chad just barely prevented his hand from being crushed, jerking his arm backwards and sidestepping. Some of the grains had scraped part of the skin of his forearm, the flayed parts stinging as it met the air. As Chad was wondering how to beat it, he heard Rukia's grunting voice.

"Juhaku!" Behind the monster was a trail of ice slowly infecting the ground and chasing the monster. Before it knew what was happening, it was frozen from the leg up, its face being confused as his face turn to frost and icicles growing from his arms.

Chad stared at Rukia dumbstruck. She looked haggard, and had to steady herself with her sword but she seemed alright.

"What are you waiting for?" Rukia yelled.

Chad didn't waste a second. He punched the creature in the abdomen, briefly cracking it in a hundred different directions before it shattered and turned to mist.

Out of the fog came Rukia Kuchiki. Chad gawked at her. Her robes were still covered in blood, and her back was completely stained

She smiled sadly, obviously relieved. "Chad… You're alright." She put all her weight on her sword, nearly slipping. Chad went to her but she stood up straight.

"I'm fine. Just… The healing Kido took a lot out of me." She walked towards Chad her back straight but she was clearly pained. Chad urged her to sit down, but Rukia just laughed it off.

"You seem to have taken quite the beating yourself! Hear I'll heal you."

"No, your wounded enough. You need rest, I'll- Eugh!"

When Chad tried to pick up Rukia, his wounded foot sent a jolt of pain through his entire leg. Rukia rushed to him, squatting down then murmuring a spell, that made an aura that surrounded his wounds. Chad tried to refuse but his muteness betrayed him.

"So, who did you fight to get all those battle scars?" Rukia inquired breaking the silence.

"It was a Espada. He was about to kill you, but he nearly killed me. Took everything I had… How about you?"

Rukia looked a bit stricken, a gloomy look was transfixed on his face. Chad was about to say something but Rukia sighed and after a pause she responded.

"It was a Espada too. But it had come from a hollow that had taken someone really close to me…"

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be. At least know I can be certain that he is at rest." Rukia sighed and sat down. "How did you close my wounds without Kido by the way?"

Chad blushed. He was greatly embarrassed about the whole situation. Before and after defeating Zommari, he kinda panicked about the best way to wrap up Rukia's wounds. He had _to_ _strip_ Rukia out of her kimono in order to wrap the ripped strips of her brown cloak around her stab wounds. He had tried his best to pay attention to her bandages as well as be a gentlemen but it got really hard.

"Well I know first aid our class made us learn it." His deep voice rumbled on, slightly more pitched as he attempted to avoid Rukia finding out.

Rukia looked at him suspiciously but then something happened that took them both by surprise.

Their stomach's started growling.

 _Damn, we didn't think to pack any food._ Chad regretted this lack of hindsight but Rukia snorted, amused.

"Don't worry me and Renji brought food with us." She reached into her robes and hidden on her person was a small compact lunchbox. They probably give those out to all Shinigami.

Though Chad doubted that they came standard with rabbits drawn in them...

"Here, nii-san told me to bring this with me." He handed him an odd chocolate covered cookie in the shape of a weird mascot. _I guess siblings think alike._

It was quite serene for the both of them, just taking time to recover from their near death experiences and eat together. The first moment of peace in their time here. Chad didn't intend for it to last for long. Neither of them would forgive themselves if Orihime died or was hurt while they standing idle but with their injuries healed and energy recovered, he felt that no one could stop them.

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 **Who's this author who updates in in a short amount of time? Has Revolver Otacon been replaced by a body snatcher?**

 **Tons of awesomeness, tons of cuteness, tons of character development, but no Inoue sadly. For the Princess of Las Noches she sure doesn't like showing up in her own story!**

 **(:**

 **Can't wait till the next chapter! See ya soon!**

 **Update: Didn't like the last few sentences so I cut it. Abei13 agreed with me. I'd love to see you review!**


	7. The Art of War

Aizen tapped his fingers against the monitor, a look of annoyance hidden under a look of amusement known only for those few who had the ability to see it.

Hundreds of video screens surrounded by the complex wire and machinery that connected them were plastered on the walls, giving him almost voyeuristic knowledge of his self made kingdom, from the dunes and outcroppings, to the many inches of his army's holdings and homes.

 _Hmm, since when has the Gotei 13 cared about one of their pawns?_

Captain Unohana, one of the eldest and most dangerous of Gotei 13 had been sent with a strike team to presumably rescue Ichigo Kurosaki, and the rest of the Ryoka who had invaded Hueco Mundo.

That had been his plan from the beginning.

The strategy was a combination of a double envelopment and a feint. The fools didn't know he could close the metaphorical gates and trap them in. While the Shinigami, Yamamoto sent were busy fighting the lower Espada and Numeros, Aizen would send his main force to Karakura Town. The Shinigami would almost certainly be there to defend it. The Espada would be sent to blitz the Captains while the Numeros and Fraccion would flank the lieutenants and lower seats.

After their defeat, Aizen would create the Oken and finally destroy the abortion ruling over the fools and sheep. He would create the world the way it should be, and not the way the cowards want it to be.

What he didn't plan was the worm he named Octava closing the hole and allowing a paltry amount of the Shinigami's strength to go through.

Then again he had always been too open handed with the Arrancar. But that was mandatory. They were stubborn by nature and if he didn't give them the illusion of freedom the army he had put hundreds of years into generating may have shattered into thousands of pieces like the reflection off a mirror or the mirage of water being disturbed by a fish breaking the surface.

Aizen was entertained by this recent outburst of justice and honor by the Shinigami. This loud vocal eruption of hypocritical haughtiness for his actions, was amusing when he thought back about the crimes committed by them and the so called nobles they protect. Compared to his trifling crimes, the atrocities committed by the Soul Society were darker and more of a hell worthy sin then what he has done and he will do.

To show offense at his toppling of the abomination they called their monarch and worshiped as an God was almost made him laugh. But he had once come across a parable in the World Of The Living that correctly defined the nature of the Soul Society.

Sheep will follow any false Sheppard regardless of the fur and fangs he refused to hide.

This was only a minor snag and would lead to a change of plans. He would have to go all out from the start. Have the top five Espada be a hammer strike through the middle, as their fraccion and the gillians flanked them from behind, resulting in complete encirclement.

He'd keep Inoue here though. Unlike the rest of the Hollow's Aizen felt she wasn't as dispossible. Her powers were an anomaly almost as great as the Hogyoku. Almost.

Turning her into a Hollow had been a remarkable bout of foresight, Aizen thought. Had he not seen her powers personally, or heard the reports from Ulquiorra, he would have just used her as bait and left her to her fate. Maybe she would have given her to Nnoitira as a reward to leal service. If he been in a good mood he may have given her to Tier or Starrk.

The girl was a weak, pathetic thing, her mind corrupted by childishness and naivety, her talents wasted on her kind heart and conscience. She couldn't even harm a bug, let alone one of her enemies. She didn't even try to fight back or see if Ulquiorra was bluffing. She was submissive like a beaten dog.

But her powers… They were a strange oddity to even him, who's knowledge of the world was greater then any mortal. She had been given the power to reject the seemingly eternal walls of fate and destiny, but her own humility rejected any conscious attempt to know what to do with them.

Except destroy the hogyoku.

Aizen had saw through her little ruse. He knew when she had quickened the pace of the orb that she intended to destroy it. Under her fear, he could sense her secretly undermining him. The insult to his intelligence was just another reason he turned her.

That did beg the question as to what was the exact origin of her powers. Aizen refused to believe that an ordinary human could just happen to win the proverbial toss of the dice when it came to obtaining powers. Aizen had theories, but all of them needed to be tested.

And the risk he took with the Hogyoku couldn't happen again. Starrk and Harribel's consciences made them unpredictable, Barragon was plotting to avenge his usurpation, and Grimmjow became more and insolent. Regardless of their loyalty and difference in strength, any one of them could steal it for their own ends.

What if one of the objectives ordered by Yamamoto was the retrieval and destruction of his most prized creation, his Promethean magnum opus that would mark his ascension and revenge against the Royalty and their subsurvient

And if the Espada proved as dispossible as he thought, he'd need any advantage he could get against the Royal Guard...

Aizen smiled. He knew then, how he would assure his divinity. What if he used the Hogyoku on himself?

But he couldn't just keep it on his person. It had to be merged with him, and he decided that he would put it in a place where its emotional use had been taken from him and lost permentally but performed it's biological use even after a thousand years.

His heart.

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.

.

The horde came upon them battle ready, shimmering through their distant horizon like a mirage.

In spite of the neutral temperature of the false sun, they could feel the heat, as their enemies Reiatsu licked and kissed them the closer they came.

Rukia furrowed her brow, trying to get a exact read on their strength. A quizzical look appeared on her face.

"Chad, do you feel the spiritual pressure? Its… The same. The exact same for all of them..."

"Yeah… But don't lose focus. They're already here."

The noise the Arrancar's made when they moved reminded Chad of a Cicada. They certainly seemed to be as numerous as bugs. They had gone from a mile to half a hundred feet in an instant, kicking up sand and dust as they marched towards Chad and Rukia.

 _We're outnumbered._ The demon in the front was some kind of twisted, malformed, almost, _no was_ , satanic, its mask being in the visige of some kind of Goat. That had to be the commander.

On the left and right there was a score of identical monsters with only skulls for heads. They moved in unison, their marching being in lockstep. Ever since he got here, Chad had gotten Deja Vu from his time in his homeland, but now the similarities were getting laughable. It was almost as if he walked into the festival and was surrounded by men dressed in calavera masks.

"Who are you?" Rukia asked pointing her sword threateningly at the living breathing demon.

The leader regarded her with little interest till he finally spoke. "Why should I give you anything? Both of you look half dead already. I only need to speak to finish the fight."

Rukia grinned mockingly. "It's a sign of respect and pride for the Shinigami. It shows how far you've risen. Let me give you a example. I am Rukia Kuchiki of Squad 13."

The Goat chuckled. "There is no such thing as respect and pride in Hueco Mundo. Only those who are stronger then the other will survive here. You eat, you fight, you breed, you die. But I'll play along with your cultural pieties. I am Arrancar #61, Rudbornn Chelute, the leader of the Exequias."

Rukia inclined her brow, in confusion. "Exequias?"

Chad answered for Chelute. "It's Spanish for Funeral Rites." Chad turned back to the Goat faced leader. "My guess is they finish off the dying foes his overlords didn't bother too."

Chad and Rukia almost thought that the goat almost rolled its eyes. "That is the purpose of the Exequias yes but not my only objective. I have been ordered to kill all intruders and failures by master Szayel and bring them back for him to study."

Chad heard but also didn't hear him say "failures." He shakily asked for clarification. "Does that mean… That the foes I spared…"

"They are dead."

Chad and Rukia looked at him with utmost fury, raising their reiastu in anger. "They were your comrades! How could you-"

"Were you not listening? Only the strong have the right to survive here in Hueco Mundo. Anyone who is weak isn't fit to be a soldier. Aizen-Sama is the strongest and has ordered that every fool who can't beat you ryoka isn't worth being in his army to harrow Heaven and its riches. And I shall not let you pass."

Rukia went put her sword into a guard stance while Chad cracked his knuckles and stretched, before he taunted the hollow. "You should be a piece of cake then. Me and Rukia just got done defeating two Espada! If they were number nine and seven how do you think number sixty one will fare?"

"For the heresy of breaking two of Lord Aizen's swords, you shall be punished with death!" He pointed at his two foes, his army raising their many blades. "Attack now!"

They charged.

The anticipation had finally subsided for the both of them as the expected became certainty. The clones held their blades inside right, as they swarmed upon them like a wave. They watched as the tin soldiers scattered and spread into a crescent shape, hoping to trap the two and close in on them like a vice.

But their foes had other plans. They nodded towards each other and Chad took the right, while Rukia took the left. Chad was a human tank, using his Devil arm to tear at least nine into pieces with the concussive force of his fist. Two tried flanking him with Sonido but Chad elbowed one, and back kicked the other. Checked felt bits of spongy meat on the back of his arm but ignored the disgust bubbling in the back of his throat for now. A few managed to slash his leg and arms but they were immediately disarmed. Literally.

Meanwhile, Rukia was cutting down foes like straw, slashing one under the right side of the ribcage, the other deep in the navel, one between neck and shoulder and so on and so on.

Rukis professionalism shined through, her expertise on her Zanpakuto shone. She kept them from getting too close but still waited for them to come to her. They weren't bad with the sword but Rukia was better. But their movements were completely in sync, making Rukia suspect that they were just mindless meat puppets controlled by the cowardly bastard hiding behind his men.

Rukia felt at peace. At least she didn't have to kill her best friend once again. She was just fighting monsters…

It was over quickly. The bodies had turned into piles of useless carrion waiting to be a scavengers lucky snack. Chad and Rukia gave other a thumbs up and charged toward the donkey general, ready to exact their own justice.

He showed no sign of worry or anger. That wasn't just because he had a goats face, and goats can't emote. Rukia was perturbed at his serenity and stopped in her tracks.

"Chad, wait!"

"Grow, Arbol."

The monster's reiatsu exploded, sending shockwaves of dust and rocks towards the two companions. Enormous tendrils sprouted from Chelute's bottom half, wrapping themselves against his waist and shooting him up as tall as a basketball hoop. On each side of his back four thin spindly branches grew out of his back, some kind of odd white skulls hanging from its succor.

"Did you think that those were my only servants? That I cannot create more of my army? You are truly arrogant to think that it would be easy to defeat my army.

"What are you talking about? You created those monsters?"

"Of course. Though I do not expect an arrogant Shinigami like yourself to understand, I am the one true member of the Exequias, Observe."

Rukia and Chad watched as the skulls grew twisted white bodies and transformed into the soldiers they had just defeated. Like overripe fruit, they plopped on the ground, squatting before standing attentively.

"Aizen-sama is the being that will destroy death itself and become god of a new world. He has blessed me with these divine powers as a gift of my devotion. I am become the tree of life, creating my servants from my fruit, turning them into my flesh and blood."

Rukia chewed on that for a moment. Something about that gave something away, a weakness, a flaw in his so called divine powers. Just as she was about to get it, Chad caught her attention.

"Rukia, look behind you!" Rukia gasped.

Running out of the dunes were a hundred of the tin soldiers, ready to impale the both of them. Chad turned to Chelute, a look of anger on his face.

"Confused? Those soldiers you defeated were only the vanguard. Behind you comes the main host."

Chad and Rukia turned towards each other and raised their Reiatsu. They had a true fight on their hands now.

Chad unexpectedly fired a El Directo a Chelute. Chelute billowed and twisted in the wind just in time, but lost two of his branches. He snapped his fingers, and his slaves built a wall of flesh protected him from the neck down.

His host had made it. Chad through many hooks, jabs, straights, and checks managed to clear a path to Rukia. Then a few jumped him, stabbing him through the meat of the shoulder.

"CHAD!" Rukia cried.

But Chad could take care of himself. He grappled the swordsman and used him as as flail before throwing him to a large group of soldiers.

The loss of attention nearly cost her. Six of the warriors tried to turn her into a shish kebob but Rukia barely made it out, watching them impale themselves.

Rukia danced around her foes, creating spires and living sculptures of ice. She had to think of a plan quick if they wanted to get out of this alive. They were about the same strength but they were outnumbered almost hellishly.

Rukia turned towards the general, scowling. It had created a column of at least five hundred soldiers to guard it from any attacks towards his person. The remaining branches were fertile as ever, growing more and more…

Wait.

Why weren't the other branches growing back?

Unless…

They couldn't!

Rukia realized his weakness. His "fruit" could only bud if there were branches from which you could grow. If the main branches were pruned, then the tree would be unable to bear any fruit and spread into a forest. Rukia honestly didn't think she could've remembered her gardeners techniques at such a opportune time.

Rukia now had a plan. "Chad, go for Chelute! Attack him from all directions! Trust me!"

Chad nodded and charged through the horde and fired straight at Chelute. As expected, the living wall protected him. Chad fired from the sides and behind only to get the same result. Chelute laughed, unawhere that he just lost the fight.

What Rukia was trying to do was not destroy his guard but seperate him from the rest of his army. She had noticed that the way the soldiers built the wall was completely straight and uniform. So Rukia had tricked him into created a square and boxing him in.

Rukia wasted no time. "Juhaku!" A trail of ice quickly spread from the ground to the base of the living shield, trapping him in a wall of ice.

Rukia had Chad catapult her above the wall, her ivory blade shimmering when the sun met its reflection. As she brought the blade down, she knew then that she had forever routed the army of Rudborrn Chelute.

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"Nel, quit it!"

"Go, horsey go!" Nel happily screamed getting saliva all over black kimono.

"Go that way, Itsygo, that way!"

"That's not the right way to go!" Ichigo lied hoping to get her to regain focus. Truth was, Ichigo didn't have a clue where he was supposed to go. The castle was so vast Ichigo felt like it would take days to get from one side to the other. Landmarks, the sand, the sky, even the Arrancar looked and felt the same to him. He had gotten lost.

 _Damnit four eyes_ _is_ _right._ It didn't help he couldn't sense others or even control his own Reiatsu either. The bastards came to him like moths to a light.

Suddenly, Ichigo tripped on a rock, falling face first, spreadeagled. When he got off he noticed that Nel was off his back. He panicked for a moment, before he found Nel facing him with a hundred yard stare. Ichigo didn't like the look of it. She looked absolutely horrified.

Ichigo calmly knelt in front of her, having a bad feeling in his stomach.

"Nel, what's wrong?"

"Pesche, and Dondochakka. Uryroo and Renji too…" Tears went into her eyes. "They're fading fast."

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.

.

Uryu couldn't breathe. That didn't help his pain.

He was shocked that he hadn't passed out. It must have been part of what ever spell the bastard had put on him. The pain was so intense as it pulsated through his body, shaking his tissue as tears came unwanted to his eyes.

He didn't want to die like this, suffering in the dirt unable to fight back against a disgusting bastard who would get away with hurting his friends. The shame of defeat and pure evil winning brought more salt sinking through his eyes. But there was something else.

The fact that he would never see Inoue-san's smile again, knowing that he had failed her. Knowing that given her keen sense of spiritual pressure she could be feeling him suffer. That brought more misery to his enflamed nerves then any physical torture Szayel could ever put him through.

His ears were ringing but he was started regain his lost focus. He realized that Szayel hadn't brought any new pain to his senses. Struggling to move his body he heard his tormentors irascible voice.

"…No you idiot crushing the heart and brain, will kill them instantly!" He heard something rip along with a shrill scream. "Just wait for the signal and remember everything I told you."

The piping voice of Szayel's fat Fraccion screamed excitedly. "I will do master, I will do, I will do!"

He heard the sound of sand shifting under feet getting closer and closer, until he could pratically feel his verminous smirk looking down on him, the smile that reminded him of his greatest foe.

"Well Quincy, there's been a change of plans." He could feel him wiping his hands on the dry part of his cloak. "You and your friends should really have sent an invitation. I would have been happy to be a guest to so many interesting people!"

"Get on with it..." He may have just wanted it to end already but he would give the satisfaction of him begging.

He could see Szayel's annoyance. "I have gotten more then enough data on all of your friends, except one. The strong one, the wildcard that Aizen sent goons after. I have never come across such a interesting specimen! Where do you find him?"

"Kiss my ass."

"I'll do more then kiss it if you tell me how someone had not only gotten so strong in a short amount of time but also has the strangest Reiatsu I've ever encountered."

That took Uryu aback, "What do… You mean?"

Szayel sighed. "I guess those glasses are just there for fashion. He takes the appearance of a Shinigsmi but has the spunk of one of our very own espada. And now that I've noticed that his reiatsu is somewhat similar to your own."

This wasn't making any sense. He must have passed out after he lost his stomach. "Ichigo has _Quincy Reiatsu?_

"It's faint but its there. But this leads to the bigger problem. By the time it would take me to fully analyze the complexities of his being, I'd be a few feet shorter. So I have to improvise a third act."

He could sense Szayel grin even wider. _May your teeth shatter you monster._

"You should be excited! You get to be part of the third act! I can imagine it now. The hero comes across his friends about to be murdered by the beautiful villain, and is forced to take his own life to save his love ones… Only for the villain to go back on his word!" Szayel heartily laughed as Uryu's frustration boiled over.

" _You coward! You can't face him yourself so you u_ s _e us as collateral?"_ He would have said more but at that moment Szayel kicked him in the stomach, making him cough and vomit up more blood.

"There's nothing cowardly with having intelligence. You would know it you had prepared to come here. But no, you came here, knowing nothing of the enemy and terrain. That's not just stupidity, that's pure and perfect suicide."

Uryu wanted to say more even if it fell on deaf ears, to scream that he had done it for something a hollow like him could never understand.

But his hypothesis that Szayel was keeping him conscious was completely incorrect. His vision faded and before he passed out he felt Rukia's and Chads presence.

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 **Yeah kinda of an asshole cliffhanger isn't it? Love writing this one, hope you enjoy it as well. (:**

 **And Inoue-Chan still refused to show up to her own story! I swear this is completely unintentional. She was going to show up but this chapter got way too long! I spent three hours street writing this one. My back is messed up, and I feel exausted but good about myself! I hope you enjoy my latest chapter!**

 **Maybe enough to leave some reviews this time please? You don't have to do it, I love you all regardless of the amount of reviews!**


	8. Symphony

**Aizen's Throne Room**

The gates of Hell were about to open. The army of lost, damned souls, once nomads but now united and given flesh by the king who would be god, were loudly quarreling and shouting amongst themselves, some precisely equidistant from the other, more clumped together in clusters of mobs. All have gathered in the throne room to unleash their hatred and jealousy upon the world, to escape from their dead homeland, to claim the fertile lands from the black gangs murdering their kind from the dawn of days.

In the front were the five strongest razors of Aizen's army and their chosen followers, metaphorically wrought of his finest steel and tempered with blood. Starrk was standing in a slumped position struggling to keep awake, his hand resting on his chin to keep him from bobbing into unconsciousness.

Barragon sat regally on his throne, the weight of his magnificence kept afloat by the strength of his loyal retinue. They were all that remained of his court, the rest slaughtered or turned traitor by Aizen's show of ungodly power. Barragon knew he would kill Aizen once he took the throne of his so called God. It would be a fitting and ironic ending to the usurper of his absolute authority. He would reclaim the world for his subjects and himself. He raised a hand and freed his servants from the burden of his makeship litter.

Tier and Ulquiorra were almost statuesque, their bodies beautifully, perfectly sculpted by Aizen, but different in every way. They stood with their backs straight, eyes focused and completely silent. If one were to look upon them, they might have thought they were fraternal twins.

Yammy meanwhile did as Yammy did best, and that was glowering at his fellow comrades in arms, picking his nose, scratching his ass, and getting angry over his trivial boredom.

Behind came the ninety nine numeros, as plentiful as foot soldiers were. However none of them were similar except in color of dress. The distinctive mask fragments were beastial, demonic, fantastical ivory shaped into all matter of horns, Jaws, fangs, antlers, helms, lenses, tusks, multi-sided shapes, strips of bone, all full of holes, pits, nicks, and notches.

Their fragments showed who they were, their personalities fashioned by what they were before they were civilized. Some were male, some were female, some were neither, some were both., some resembled humans, others took on the physique of monsters for greater strength. But the blood lust, arrogance and greed shined through.

Behind the numeros were the incomplete thousand arrancar, the deformed, the unfinished, the lame, the crippled failures of low intelligence and ability, only worth as strong infantry to erode the stamina and defenses of the Gotei army. Behind those were the Privarion Espada numbered from one hundred to a hundred and nine. However with the death of Dordoni, Cirucci, Aaroniero, and Gantenbainne, these were the only embers of the original but rusted blades of Aizen's strongest.

The only place left to fill was Aizen's, followed by his two generals. As of yet, only Ichimaru had arrived, pacing back and forth with his hands tucked in, the ugly smirk of a Fox transfixed on his pale, white face.

Lilynette had noticed this. Ichimaru was the most casual of the invaders, often letting things slide that Aizen and certainly Tosen would not. However his grin was something uncanny to the hollow, as if behind every joke hid a threat and behind every threat hid a joke. It wasn't maniacal, it wasn't lustful (thank god), it wasn't even happy. It just seemed… Off.

"Jeez, that guy gives me the creeps." Apacci's differently colored eyes twinkled with disgust but mostly the usual derisive irritation as she wrinkled her nose. In her peripherals, she noticed Lilynette underfoot. She smiled, amused at her curiosity.

"So Lily, you think you have what it takes to kick some shinigami ass? After all you're just a little brat!" She teased her by poking her chest, causing her to blush and argue back.

"I bet i'll kill more Shinigami than you, Starrk or Harribel!" She covered her mouth upon saying the name of the Tres Bestias savior.

Apacci fumed at her. "You dumbass! Nobody will kick more ass then our lady!" Apacci crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. But before she could respond, Franceska laughed, and turned her attention towards

"Lily may kick more ass then _you._ But what did you expect from the Fraccion of someone as useless as Starrk?"

Lilynette, blushed reluctant to tell the truth. "Hey, Starrk isn't number one for nothing!"

Franceska through back a wild smirk. "You should probably get back to Starrk now. It looks he's fallen asleep again."

Lilynette did a double take. Starrk had fallen asleep with his head between his legs, showing flexibility Lilynette doubted he learned on his own. She growled and ran off, pissed, pissed, and more pissed.

But not before saying "Harrbel still isn't the Primera!", blew a raspberry and ran off as fast as she could.

Franceska and Apacci's forehead veins throbbed, and were going to go screaming after her, if Sun hadn't grabbed them by their collars.

"WHAT THE HELL!" They screamed in unison.

Sun sighed. "Both are you are being childish. Besides, Lord Aizen's coming."

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.

.

 **On the way to War**

The incision had healed perfectly, leaving no bruise, scar, abrasion, or blemish. The only thing giving the Hogyoku's power away was the objects transparency through his toned muscle and flawless skin, as his capillaries started to spread it's power through his body.

He could feel the Hogyoku's power surging through blood and bones, already changing his body the way he wanted it to be. It reminded him of the opium the lower clans helped their personal gangs dish out to the peasants to keep them enslaved to their masters through pleasant ennui. But while they grew weak both in spirit and flesh, he would rise above them, the noble houses, the royal families, even their obscenity of a king.

It would take a couple hours for Aizen to be able to completely control his newfound power but he didn't mind. If he could be patient for thousands of years, then something as trivial as a few minutes could nor temper his excitement.

After all what was more inconsequential as time?

He had ordered Tosen to call his legion to arms, as the hour of conquest had finally come. He had no doubt that his creations were more then thrilled at the idea of massacring the murderers of their race and feasting on the riches of their world. What they didn't know was that this was their baptism of fire. Any Arrancar who died or failed to defeat their foe would be deemed worthless and thrown away.

His fraccion and Tosen followed him as walked towards the throne room. All three of them had been irritating as the nurse implanted the Hogyoku in his chest. When the he and the Hogyoku merged, he had felt intense pain, something he hadn't felt since he was a child. He managed to control himself but he let out a few betraying vocal emissions from his lungs.

Loly and Menoly screamed and cried, while Tosen beheaded the nurse believing she had poisoned him. He didn't know who was the bigger fool, the girls who worshiped him blindly, or the blind man who followed him knowingly.

Still he was in such a pleasant mood that he decided not to cull Granz for his incompetence and impatience. But then again, calling him incompetent was wrong.

After all he had proved his worth with defeating the Ryoka.

Despite all of them being stronger then him, he had managed to incapacitate nearly all of the intruders by himself. He wasn't near as clever as he thought he was, but Aizen had to give him credit.

Though the Ryoka were truly interesting and remarkable finds, he had long since moved past the need to study and research. They couldn't lay a finger on him, not even Ichigo Kurosaki could. It was pointless to continue to focus on them.

But Aizen felt a sense of melancholy, like seeing an ancient monument had been destroyed. Though only inadvertedly created, Aizen had guided him from birth all the way to his inevitable death, watching him grow in heights unimaginable for most mortals. He felt like he was worth more then being a specimen.

Maybe Granz could leave a piece for Inoue to resurrect. Showing the servants of the Soul King, that a mortal he created had became more powerful then them would be the perfect slap in the face to the Abomination's works.

When Aizen could here the footsteps of Manila and Aivirrne stop, Aizen turned around and saw that a shadow was overtaking the two.

The shadow of Orihime Inoue.

"Hello, Aizen-sama! I'm sorry I'm late, me and Cal were taking a bath. You would be surprised how shy she is!" She stared down Aivirrne, who eyed her back with shock and rage, while Manila stood frozen and dumbstruck.

"So, Aizen turned you into a Arrancar? I figured someone he'd turn someone as useless as you into one of us." Aivirnne, finally spoke, a vapid, sadistic grin transfixed on her face. So, Aizen had turned her into his newest Arrancar. That meant that she now outranked her… She laughed straight to her face.

Menoly gasped and put her hand to her mouth, in disbelief that her friend would be this suicidal. Couldn't she sense her power?

Loly continued anyway. "So what rank are you? Ninety-nine? Ninety-eight? Eighty?"

"Number five!" Inoue happily chirped before ripping off Loly's ear.

Loly looked confused before the pain hit her, Then she screamed.

"LOLY!" Menoly screamed running to her friends side. Loly was sobbing, her left hand putting pressure on her wound, her breath getting caught in her throat, hiccuping as she struggled to process what was happening. _This can't be… There's no way Aizen-sama would make that bitch a Espada! It's… It's impossible!_

Orihime twirled her severed ear around, bored and irritated. "You should clean your ears more." She flung the ear at Loly and continued to walk towards her lord. Tosen held his sword in a Ko Gusumi stance, blocking the way. Aizen held up his hand and he moved to the side.

"Inoue-san. I'm happy you have made it. I have a very important task for you."

"And what is that Aizen-sama?"

"I need you to hold Hueco Mundo until I return."

Orihime looked disappointed but she piked up quickly. "Can do!" She turned her head towards his Fraccion. "Do you want me to get rid of the rats?"

Menoly went ash white.

As tempting as that was, they could be of some use during the battle, even if they reminded him of that idiotic Momo Hinimori. "That won't be necessary, Inoue-san, I believe they have learned their lesson." Aizen gestured towards them. "Come"

Menoly meekly held up Loly and walked towards them. As he was about to leave, something he didn't expect happened.

Inoue clutched his chest.

Aizen flinched then went slack, but was reassured of her loyalty when he heard her voice.

"Perhaps before you go… You could relieve some stress with me? Or perhaps after the battle?" Her voice was a low and seductive whisper as she caressed his chest, her face getting closer to his.

Tosen roared. "Learn your place, Hollow!"

Once again Aizen raised a hand, diffusing the tension as he pretended to be amused. "That's a kind offer, Inoue-san… But I have to decline. Maybe you would like to instead spend some time with your friends?

Inoue wasn't disappointed. "Of course, Aizen-sama! I can't wait for them to see the new me!"

Aizen was relieved. Next to no longer being interested in any gender, he was happy to get her away from him. He was unsurprised but slightly disappointed that she was still blindly loyal to him.

"Your friends are currently being played with by Szayel. I suggest you move quickly, if you want to see them alive."

Orihime smiled a different smirk, this one being venomous and lustful. "That's okay. I can always make new ones out of the old." She licked her lips and bowed.

Aizen continued on assured of his superiority, unaware that Orihime Inoue's shadow was now bigger then his.

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.

.

Grimmjow walked around the throne room, excited to meet Ichigo. When he had received the call to arms, Grimmjow decided to wipe his ass with it, and wait till they all left.

Then he would come and take the throne for himself.

He had been doing a lot of thinking. He may have been a feral Cat, but he wasn't without his instinctual cunning. He knew that Ichigo was still alive, and that was who he wanted to fight with, not some silky Captain. He had to pay him back anyway, and if he gave him a good fight he might warn his friends about the woman.

Another he had been thinking about, was how easily he rolled over when Aizen came to Hueco Mundo. It had damaged his pride but his instincts told him that if he didn't roll over, he'd be a stain on Aizen's carpet.

Well fuck Aizen, and the bitches who allowed him to rule over them like slaves. As much as he hated to admit it, he had been fucking weak. Since when has he given a shit about his own life? Besides, he knew that Aizen thought of them as nothing more then tools. They may respect him for his power, worship him for doing what Barragon and the other Warlords couldn't, revere him for bringing them out of the devastation, maybe even love him for giving them a purpose.

But the truth was, as the fuckheads ignored and denied it, was Aizen thought of them as less important then the newly introduced toilet paper. Grimmjow knew the his look all too well. He had seen it in hundreds of Adjuchas, their arrogance because of their power and the way they dispatched their so called followers like they were their playthings.

Well if they wanted to die for some false fucking savior, that was their problem, not his. They could have their paradise, while he had his kingdom.

It wasn't intelligent. It was fucking stupid. But Grimmjow was tired of towing the line and kneeling. He He didn't give a shit whether or not he lived to see the sunrise, he would die the way he wanted. Maybe if he was lucky he would eat thousands of the bastards, till he had gotten strong enough to fuck everything up. Maybe if Aizen hadn't came along he would be a Vasto Lorde by now.

And he would show everyone that he was the king.

TAP TAP TAP.

Grimmjow heard footsteps behind him.

Grimmjow eyes went wide like saucers and his brow arched up in surprise. There was someone still here? Grimmjow couldn't believe it. He felt all of their power in this spot before it vanished!

Unless… This wasn't real. Had Aizen restarted the purge? He done this with the original Arrancar, was he about to do this on him for his defiance? " _Don't think you can sneak up on me you fuck!_ _Where are you!_ _"_

He unleashed his Perquisa and Reiatsu., as well as unsheathe his blade. The rickety footsteps stilled.

Grimmjow turned around and sighed. It was just one of the Numeros, the stalking one who wouldn't leave his ass alone for one fucking minute. Her body took the form of a scrawny little girl, conservatively covered. It annoyed him that Aizen had took kids into his army.

It was rare for any spawn of native breading Hollows and nearly zip for corrupted children to survive here. Many of them died, they either starved to death, were tricked by some smarter spirit, or were driven insane. And the cycle would repeat again and again, till only the quickest and smartest survived. Innocence had no place in Hueco Mundo.

 _Then Aizen came._

Grimmjow had no time for distant, blurred memories. This could be a trap. He stared down the girl, both on the other ends of the gargantuan throne room, being the only visible sign of life in Aizen's palace. The draft stirred up dust and the motes of sand littering the floor, as the clouds briefly swallowed up the sunshine.

"What're you doing here?" He barked at her, examining her with the intent of spotting any flaw or shimmer in Aizen's witchcraft. He was probably being fucked with but the truth was nothing was flawless. _That_ was something the bastards who gave up their free will had forgotten when they lost their masks.

"I… I… In-"

In what?

The girl caught her breath, and coughed her stammering away. "Lady Inoue sent me."

Grimmjow froze.

 _No, no fucking way._ Grmmjow's mind slowed to a snail's pace as his heart beat out a sonata. He couldn't process this. _Why the fuck would Aizen leave her here?_

The girl was nervously chattering on but Grimmjow didn't quite hear her. He was more focused on his surroundings, hoping for a giveaway of the demon's presence. But there was nothing.

Grimmjow never thought he be afraid. For all of his existence he had been the Alpha predator, a hunter, a _king._ Even when he was turned into Aizen's puppet, the only thing he feared for was his life… And that was sated by his love of violence and his hope of destroying the man who had imprisoned him.

But the odd emotion Grimmjow was feeling wasn't out of potential death, or pain. It was something that he never thought he'd ever feel.

The fear of being someone else's prey.

"So… Grimmjow-sama… Do you like me?"

That snapped him back to reality. Why the fuck was she asking that all of a sudden? Why would anyone… Nevermind.

Grimmjow suddenly had a question that he believed he knew the answer to. After all why would a numero stay behind? And what's with this "Lady Inoue" crap? It was usually one of the bullshit honorifics the Shinigami introduced. That shit didn't fly unless...

"Hey girl, are you Orihime Inoue's fraccion?"

The girl smiled. "Of course! She is-"

In a burst of Sonido, Grimmjow appeared in front of the girl. He grabbed her by the neck and held her up arms length.

"I have your Fraccion you bitch! If you want to see her alive, _**leave me the fuck alone!"**_

Silence was her reply. Grimmjow tuned his ear and pequisa to every conceivable direction but only heard the girl's chocked cries. He had gambled and lost.

He was about to fling her away...

...But then he felt someone's breath on the back of his nape.

"Hello, Grimmjow-kun." It wasn't happy or seductice. It was full of sadistic intent.

Grimmjow reflexively hit her with the object in her hand. But in his haste, he forgot which hand held his sw, and tried to hit Inoue with her own Fraccion. His impaled arm was a retaliation for his stupidity.

Inoue twisted her Daito in his further and deeper in his wound, causing him to yell out and drop the girl and his sword. When he tried to punch her, Inoue impaled his hand.

Grimmjow screamed.

.

.

.

He couldn't be too late. There was no way he was too late.

Ichigo rushed as fast as a bullet train, the gust of air screamed around him and his aura. Nel was barely holding on, but Ichigo was too focused on the lack of Reiatsu his friends were emitting. It couldn't even be called faint. It was almost invisible.

Ichigo stopped briefly to put Nel down. He had to focus on beating the shit out of whoever had did this to his friends.

"NEL, STAY HERE!" His fear made him more angry then he wanted. He didn't mean to sound so harsh but he couldn't watch her and help his friends at the same time.

He kicked up sand and air before he made it to the garish, feverish ruins. This was the location where Nel felt their Reiatsu. Why didn't he listen to what Ishida kept telling him? If he had spent anytime training to hone his senses, he would have been here earlier.

He ran but he didn't need to run far. His breath caught in his throat as his mind went into disbelief.

Strewed all about the ruins, were the bodies of his friends, bloodied, broken and still. Renji was lying facedown, his auburn hair mixed with dried blood. Chad was clucthing his arms, while rolled into a ball. Uryu was swimming in blood, running down from his mouth to his waist. And Rukia...

Ichigo shaked his head, refusing to believe in what was right in front. He opened his eyes and they were still there.

Ichigo fell to his knees, screaming, tears streaming out of his eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen! He heard his Hollow's laugh get louder, and louder, and louder…

"Ichigo, you idiot… Stop crying!" A all too familiar but severely pained feminine voice called out.

Ichigo opened his eyes, daring to hope. "R… Rukia?" He saw them all stir but focused on her signature cocksure smile, blood, and other fluids coming our of her mouth. "Run."

"What?"

"Run, save Orihime!" Rukia gagged as white fluid gushed out of her nose and mouth. "It's a trap!"

"Oh, your so dramatic. This isn't a trap. It is the final act." A silky voice proclaimed.

Ichigo turned around. Behind him was a lithe figure strutting towards This hollow had a odd appearance that would have been comical if his blood wasn't steaming.

His thin vine like wings with sacks hanging off them, his layered dress cut into long fleshy strips as if it was a part of him, his gray chest divided into a soft carapace, the four line shaped markings coming out of left eye and his grotesque vampiric fingers gave him the visige of some sort of gothic demon.

"Are you the one who did this to my friends?" Ichigo's voice was low and dangerous, his go to response to any threat whether it be bully or otherworldly foe.

Szayel rolled his eyes. "No I just walked in at the wrong time. Of course it was me you twit!"

Ichigo screamed. _"Bastard!"_ As he went to vertically slash the girly, fruity Arrancar in half, Szayel vanished.

Ichigo looked around confused. _Where the fuck then he go?_

"Now are you going to listen to my wonderful voice or are you going to go apeshit again?" He heard his voice behind him but when he turned around all he saw was empty air.

"COWARD! Fight me like a man!" Ichigo had never been this angry, his reiatsu being so high it was starting to crack the roof.

"But I'm not a man, Kurosaki. And in spite of the hormones in you, neither are you." Suddenly Szayel appeared in front of them, no longer invisible. They both gawked at each other. very confused at what just happened. Ichigo smiled a demonic grin, and ran towards him.

W-wait!" Szayel stuttered, realizing just how much that the illusion device had taken damage. But Szayel recovered and pulled out what looked like Chad and Rukia plushies, covered in stitches "I guess you want your friends to die!"

Ichigo skidded to a halt. "What are you talking about?"

"Observe." He pulled out a tiny object from inside the Rukia doll. "The left eye." He squished it and heard a horrible scream from Rukia. Ichigo turned and saw Rukia grabbing her face, blood spilling out between her fingers.

Horrified, Ichigo turned back to the Szayel, a maniacal grin on face. "What did you do!"

Szayel tsked. "Once I get someone's DNA, I can create a sort of puppet that contains a copy of insides that I can do with as I please. It's similar to what you humans call a Voodoo Doll."

"So, you're saying… As long as you have those dolls, you can hurt my friends?"

"Of course!"

Suddenly, Szayel felt his dolls slip from his hands. Fearing that he dropped them, he looked around only to see the ginger beast standing over him, his dolls being thrown to the side, As Ichigo was about to take his head, the pinked haired dandy snapped his fingers.

And so the final song began. The tune of horrible agonizing screams made Ichigo freeze.

"I suggest you look inside those dolls. You'll find them empty because I gave their organs to my Fraccion with orders to break them until you do as I ask." Szayel smiled when Ichigo fell to his knees. "You can't win this one. I can make it stop. But you have to do something."

The demon's voice seemed far away. Ichigo couldn't believe how helpless he was.

It was pathetic.

But Ichigo still registered that he could help. "W-what is it."

"There's a certain ritual you humans called Harakiri. I want to see you do it."

"A-and if you do… Well you let my friends go?"

Szayel's grin got wide as if he had unhinged his jaw. "Of, course!"

Ichigo didn't hesitate as turned the blade away from the monster and towards himself.

"ICHIGO, DON'T!" Someone screamed, perhaps it was Rukia, maybe Uryu, it ultimately didn't matter, he still ran the blade through his belly until it was out his back. Ichigo slumped over in pain but not before sparring the monster one final look.

"Idiot. I was never going to let your friends go!" Szayel yanked Tensa Zangetsu out of him. Before Ichigo could pass out in shame, a piping voice got his attention.

"ITSYGO!"

Nel was there staring at Szayel in horror. Ichigo didn't see Szayel's look of surprise, but he did hear him.

"What the hell… What is she doing here!"

Ichigo must have been passed out. There was no way, no way a child would die because of him...

Nel screamed. **"You leave Itsygo alone!"** Her voice changed at the last syllable. Then she exploded into mist.

Szayel stuttered, obviously afraid. Once again Ichigo fought unconsciousness through sheer will. He had to live to...

To...

Wait, who's outline was that?

Ichigo thought he saw a familiar figure emerge from the mist. At first he thought it was Orihime. Had she escaped and was about to save them? Ichigo cried.

But when he finally appeared he did a spit take.

A curvaceous Arrancar with Green hair and Nel's mask appeared out of the mist, a sword in hand and running towards him.

.

.

.

 **Damn, this was a long one. Don't intend to have a long summary.**

 **NEL IS BACK! She's ready to kick some pinked haired ass!**

 **Can't wait to see you next chapter!**


	9. The Man Who Would Be The God Of Sheep

The modern environs of Karakura Town were strange to the Shinigami. The lack of shanties, near absence of temples, and the colossal houses made not just out of wood but steel and concrete were a sight not shown anywhere in the Soul Society.

That was to be expected for some of them, as those Shinigami had spent their whole lives in the Soul Society as the privileged, unspoiled scions of the greats houses. Many of them had spent their childhoods embracing the approved ascetic of the nobility, as was the tradition. Any change in style would be make their elders aghast and for some even necessitate shunning to preserve the family's honor.

Many of them brought up by a few hushed whisper's to an old friend or a silent threat to an obstinate instructor. Sure some of them had the skill and prowess to match their rank but other's were not used to being on the front lines, often having decided that when duty called was the opportune time to take sick leave or take a vacation day.

They couldn't get out of this one. Yamamoto had ordered that all available soldiers get prepared to go to war. Ikkaku snorted, as he thought that even now the whiny little bastards would probably be the most likely to survive anyway.

That shit didn't fly in the Eleventh. Any spoiled brat asking for special treatment would have gotten his ass kicked or be subject to one of the many hazing rituals till they dropped out to another sqaud.

In many way's no matter how many of their other comrades despised them for their easy call to violence and refusal to simmer down, they were ultimately the best squad in the whole Gotei 13. And that wasn't his own pride talking.

They didn't have to be polite to some coward who got his rank by being born inside the walls instead of being brought outside. Respect, love, and camaraderie was all earned through fights, curses and gallons of sake. They didn't have to be polite towards each other, hell they didn't want to be respectful to their brothers in arms. All they wanted was to prove to the world that they were greatest fighters that ever lived even in death.

Death was a joke to the eleventh, to the point that they often referenced their comrades death through curses (I'll fuck you up like Fat Ukiyo's asshole!") To incorrect and borderline hellworthy jokes ("Fuck! The lieutenant tore my clothes into Yuki like pieces") even becoming slang ("The retard got Kenpachied!"). After all when death was always a certainty the only healthy way to quash the fear was to make it your bitch.

Right now, they making bets as to who was going to die first.

"I say a hundred on Maki." Ikkaku proclaimed.

"Twice that on all the greenhorns." A tanned spikey haired veteran called.

"I say all the ugly ones." Yumichika said, aware that he was talking about the whole squad.

"I say you all die for a million pieces of candy!" The lieutenant piped happily.

The only one they didn't bet on was the captain and for good reason. The captain was the face, the image, foundation of all squads that their subordinates relied on for leadership. It was bad luck, a sinister omen for any battle.

And in Kenpachi's case it was suicidal.

Before they could finish their illegal tontine, the beeps of their Soul Pagers went off, telling them to get into position.

The Battle of Karakura Town had begun.

.

.

.

The General of the Soul Society's holy swords stood proud in the middle, his back straight in spite of his age. He was exposed, because as the Captain Commander he was the face and strength of the Gotei 13. A leader who hid behind his men while they fought did not deserve to lead.

The commander of Soul Society's secret police was hidden in plain sight, she and her soldiers camoflauge being unknown even to the head captain. That way her army of assassins and spies wouldn't be found easily. But Soi Fon knew that her soldiers were the best, having been veterans in countless uprisings, inserections, false flag ops, and many more.

If there were weak branches she would be happy to see them pruned by Aizen's scum. Once the cup had passed, the Assassin was eager to prove that she was better then her predesessor. Though she had been forgiven, Soi Fon wouldn't allow her people to grow weak. The Onmitsukido were hers now.

The wizards had been leaderless since the Hollowfication Incident, as no one was willing to grasp the scepter due to the shame placed upon them, but they still worked tirelessly as legion. They had set traps of high level, and forbidden Kido around the pillars holding the faux Karakura Town together.

And finally there was the very annoyed scientist, hiding in his own bunker with his talented but expendable fellow researchers. They had put thousands of motion sensors, state of the art radar, Reiatsu examination and tracking devices, radio communication that was flawless up to a hundred kilometers and more dotted strategically from the heart to the outskirts of the mirage city.

Time stood still. Eternity and the war could have passed by like the setting and rising of the sun but the tension would still freeze the soldiers in stone. The nerveless, soft faced rookies shook and the hardened, sharp eyed veterans moved as slow as The World Of The Living's automated machines

Birds flew by.

The wind whistled.

The ground quaked and the azure sky tore in two.

The heavens shook and light shattered like painted mirror as a gash of broken space signified the invasion by the hungry, wicked Yurei was underway. The intake and exhale of breath was a palpable wall against the miasmic unholy winds nearly blew the rookies off their feet. The clouds themselves were blown away, breaking apart and becoming minute wisps.

"Do not look away! That is the power of the inhumanity and indecency of Aizen's works! Go! Release your swords in defiance of his arrogance and power. Attack now!" The iron tone of Yamamoto's voice sent shockwaves of adrenaline and courage through his underlings, filling them with determination and resolve.

A hearty roar and the sound of spiritual steel scratching against leather as it was released from it's sheath thundered through the air, as the Gillians opened the doorway from Hell to this world and tore it wide open.

.

.

.

Aizen waited in the dark.

It was what he was best at.

Even in his guileless, trustful days as a nameless untouchable Aizen had learned to be patient. Any sudden move without thought or careful planning could give the game away. That was what life was, a endless series of bluffing, chance and

Most Shinigami, nobility, politicians, peasants, police, even the abominations court and shields were either unaware or thought themselves the players when they were really the pieces. Some may think of themselves the refferie or judge deciding how it would be played in the name of fairness but in the end their bias for their favorite shined through.

Inside the gargantua, he watched the masked gillians stampede through the rabble of Yamamoto's warriors, being easily exterminated by the prejudiced guides of the dead, unaware they were caught in the whirpool of fate.

 _Do not feel for them, never feel anything towards them. Kyoka Suigetsu had whispered to him long ago,. Those who die in your name or cursing it, are necessary sacrifices for your ascension. Your cause is a just one, for you shall be the one who changes the world. Remember your misery when you return to God's palace with your abominations of his work. Show the so called enlightened ones the mistake of refusing you the gift of a name and free will._

They may call him greedy, ambitious, evil. So be it. Aizen had long since passed the point of attempting to get people to understand him. Their cries of sanctimonious morality were just empty air carried by the winds.

Their relevance to that thing and it's millitant oligarchy was quite amusing, if pathetic. He suspected that their devotion was so great, that many of those who didn't die in battle would commit Seppuku in response to their failures due to having their spines and constitutions shattered by the destruction of the one thing that held them straight.

Though Aizen suspected more yield due to their cowardice and incompetence. If so they were fatally mistaken. He would give the hypocrites to his horde.

"Why are we waiting? If we attack now we can shatter them in minutes."

Aizen wasn't the only one to grasp Tosen's stupidity. Gin chuckled, his grin flashing even in the pitch void. "And I thought yer were stupid before! Anyone with two eyes can see what Aizen's plan is… Then again you _are_ blind."

Aizen could see the ebony captain puff up in indignation, his teeth clenching from the insult to his honor. "Hold your tongue Ichimaru…" Aizen could hear the blade being unsheathed. "Or lose. It"

Aizen stopped the fight before it started. "Explain your meaning to Tosen-san Gin."

Gin didn't waste anytime. "Ya really think, the old man wouldn't ave pared for us? Yamamoto may be a stickler for the rules but he isn't stupid. He would ave figured it out eventually and would not waste any expense. Think bout how much our planned changed due to Szayel's stupidity. Since we couldn't get their captains in Hueco Mundo, that means that they're there."

"As much as he likes ta sing about the strength and pride of the Gotei 13, the truth is without our pretty swords and tricks, most of us are like paper dolls. The captains are no exception but they'll made out of stone instead of origami. That's wha helps the paper cut. Without them, we're basically back to the way we started, nothing more then glorified thugs working for the powers that be. So tell me, Tosen-San why must we not just rush in?"

Tosen looked like he'd been slapped. Of course he being the dog he was, he accepted this without balking. "M...My apologies Aizen-sama… I shouldn't have doubted your wisdom! Tosen bowed in apology.

"It's alright, Tosen-san. " Aizen could not believe someone could be this blind, (the pun was not lost on him) or stupid. Just because he saved him from a spoiled rat, does that give him the right to worship him?

Sure he may be the only one that deserved to be revered but the naivety of the sheep was astounding. As much as Aizen liked to pretend that he didn't tolerate disobediance, secretly (though he denied it) rebellion and free thought amongst his followers amused him. It was odd how a few kind words could heal the broken and damn, not knowing that even without their wounds, they would be weak and pathetic.

Maybe it was the truth that the hopeless would always look for a savior, even despite the fact their messiah view them as nothing more then insects to be crushed on the way to his goals. The Hollow had raised him as the Soul Society had raised Yamamoto and the Royal Guard a thousand years ago. But they were idiots. The only salvation they could ever find was in themselves, not from some savior. There was no heroes in reality.

Perhaps… Maybe. Tosen wasn't as much a simpleton as he thought. It had been a long time since such a flicker of empathy had jolted through his numbed brain. Having killed his conscience and self years ago, Aizen didn't know what to do with such a thought.

It would have to be a test. He would do something he had never done since almost almost eight hundred years. Aizen thought of what of a great weight that would have been removed from his shoulders had he been proven wrong.

"Did you enjoy the temperature in Las Noches? Or perhaps the sky?" Aizen asked out of the blue.

The surprise of the personal inquiry from someone as serene, noble, untouchable as Aizen was an absolute shock to the senses. Tosen looked completely gobsmacked, unable to comprehend what his Bodhisattva was intending. Even Gin was confused, apparent by the sapphire shining through the blackness.

"I remember when I first stepped foot in Hueco Mundo. It was one of the sorties the Central 46 would command us to do when the location of a powerful Menos was pinpointed. The only reason they cared was because the Menos was a potential threat, and sometimes the mission was nearly certain suicide so it would be beneficial for them in more then one way."

"But this was an actual mission with a captain and team. The truth is, I don't remember much of what we did. But I will always recall the cold. I've never experienced such cold in my life." _Even as a slave_ went unsaid. "I started thinking about how not one of the Shinigami had thought about conquering this world and ending the threat of Hollows forever. But that wasn't convenient or feasible according to Hirako."

"This peaked my interest in such matters. Even as someone without a seat, I was still more then a match for him. You all already knew what came next. But none of you know why I had Hueco Mundo redesigned the way it. Why I gave it a sky, a heat, an air of culture."

"Wasn't it because the sky lets you spy on your enemies?" Tosen inquired.

Aizen ignored the slap in the face and despite his Zanpakuto's warnings, he moved on. "No Tosen san. The truth is I had Las Noches and in an extent Hueco Mundo rebuilt that way, because it made me... happy."

Aizen meant to say sentimental but his emotion betrayed him as he remembered Halcyon days long since gone. The heat, the beauty of the stars and sunlit sky, the days of playing chess with… Aizen quickly regained his composure. He could sense that Gin would laugh at him before he betrayed him.

"I can emphasize with your previous worship of the system. There were times that even I was a fool."

"No!" Tosen yelled.

Aizen was shocked at this. Had Tosen finally saw through his mask? He slipped his pinky, ring and middle finger around his sword but that wasn't necessary. Like most things in his life, trying to be a man instead of a god lead to nothing but disappointment.

"Aizen sama, I'm sorry but you are wrong. You most forgive for my insolence, but you are not a fool. Your are the hand that carries the sword of justice, the karmic light that heralds the reincarnation of this rotten world. Before I met you, I was treated worse then a flea. Yet I continued to believe in the lies, as long as I told myself that those who wronged me and others would be swept away by the scales of justice. It was you who enlightened me and all I wish in return that I serve you to the death."

Tosen looked like he was in tears, like a child being yelled at. Aizen for his part, said nothing struggling not to break his teeth in rage. He turned his back to his two fellow Shinigami. He would not give them the privilege of seeing him cry.

What did he expect? They were all idiots! How could he even think that _he_ was even close to his level? _That they could ever understand and be an equal_ _to him?_ He was the only one, had been since _they_ _died_ , and he has seen, he has seen, why did he let him see? He couldn't let him live, he couldn't, he couldn't…

Aizen took a breath as Kyoka Suigetsu calmly whispered to him, filling him with his signature, mandatory detachment. He couldn't let that ever happen again. He caressed his sword, letting himself relax but masked his palpable relief.

A beam of white light beamed in Aizen's face, impairing the sight in his left eye. It appeared that he had became so emotional that the space between the Gargantua and his target was started to collaspe. Holes of various size were pockmarked through the walls, bringing in fresh air and a breeze that cooled the moisture under his eyes.

And just like that the mask of Aizen the would be God was sewn back on. "You are correct Tosen. Thank you for reminding me. I'm sure you will show your steadfast loyalty and your Shikigami like devotion with the power I've given to you as a largesse. Aizen smiled. "I'm sure you will fight to the death." Tosen beamed. "Now, open the Gargantua. I want to see the creations of my subjects to be."

Tosen spoke the enchantation, his voice echoing strangely as he invoked the tiny apertures to part and widen the darkness and light. The black space was cut into page like squares, before folding into three dimensional kirigami like cubes and finally opening like the unhinged jaw of a snake.

Karakura Town had changed a lot from when he first surveyed the Jureichi. Many of the buildings had gone from the pseudo-traditionalist structures the senile clowns would have been pleased with, to gargantuan monstrosities wrought and beaten into boring almost symmetrical geometry. That was to be expected.

The nation in which at least half of the districts were centered had gone through many wars and disasters in it's history, the last of which had changed the country entirely. Wars and disasters were when the balancers needed to work the most, so while it was the will of the powerful to feed disinformation, it was also their will to control it. The nation was also the most similar to the Soul Society, something that was often brushed off by the indoctrinated fools who patrolled here.

Humans were truly insignificant, stupid creatures. They had no control or knowledge that their fates were controlled by the thousands of hands above them, whatever learnt wisdom destroyed by time and slaughter. Even when they gained supernatural power they were either too weak of mind to use it properly or were so entranced by the seeming grandeur that they were happy to be puppets.

Their disappearance was all Aizen needed to know that he was in a trap.

"Tosen-san, Gin move five paces to the left and right of me." Tosen and Gin complied.

Aizen felt the heat before seeing the flames. The wall of fire rose in front of him, reaching the height of his neck. Then the flames circled Aizen, shooting and flowing around him like waves. The fire connected, forming an unbroken ring of Dragon's breath. Finally the flames crashed below him, closing the trap beneath his feat.

A quarter of a mile to the front, Yamamoto stood on the tallest building, his gaze meeting Aizen's.

"Aizen." Yamamoto didn't grace traitors with the respect of a honorific, it seemed. "I see you have graced us your presence."

Aizen gave Yamamoto a mocking half bow. "Genryusai-sama, I see that you have prepared for me well. Thank you for giving me a proper welcome."

"You speak, but I see that lies and ill will are still the only thing you breath. Did you expect us to simply allow you to destroy the innocent?"

Aizen laughed. "Your sense of humor is as poignant as always. Tell me what do the Shinigami know of protecting the innocent?"

A wail of curses and indignant roars met this retort. _As expected_. He wondered how many were genuine. Probably more then he would like to think. The would be God sensed Reiatsu behind him. He turned and saw ice and fire meeting each other, creating white smoke and steam. Behind was a gray storm of snow and hail contrasting with the bright blue sky on the center, along with a partially melted Dragon in the center.

"Aizen you bastard!" They young, white haired captain cursed. "You'll pay for what you did to Momo!"

Aizen folded his arms, and gave Hitsuguya a condescending stare. "I see the so called maverick doesn't know what happens when Ice meets extreme heat. And what makes you think I'll pay for Hinamori when I haven't for anyone else?"

A vein popped in the little captain's head. "YOU-"

"CAPTAIN HITSUGUYA, GET BACK TO YOUR POSITION NOW!" Hitsuguya glared at Yamamoto ever so briefly, but calmed down and bowed before flash stepping away.

Aizen again turned to Yamamoto. Don't think you can trap me here forever, Yamamoto-san. But don't worry. My Hollows can easily massacre all of you.

To even Aizen's immense surprise, Yamamoto chuckled, That was so surreal that the former captain did a double take. "A bit bold by half are you boy? I grant that you have great confidence. But I've lived a long time, and I've executed traitors more confident, powerful and intelligent then you. You think your white abominations can defeat the strength of the Soul Society? Fool. This city will be your funeral pyre!"

 _We' shall see Genryusai._ Aizen gave his fellow conspirtors the signal to unchain his demons. _You may laugh now but_ w _e'll see who writes the history in the end._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 ** _So_ _yeah it's been a while. A lot of things happened while I was gone._**

 _ **First my depression got the worse it's ever been. That obviously was a problem.**_

 _ **Then my computer lost its files. That was pretty irritating.**_

 _ **And finally I've started to write chapters together, so I can not waste time between updates.**_

 _ **Anyway, a couple notes with this chapter. The reason I made Aizen like that was because I believe Kubo did a great injustice not exploring his character. So I decided to use the paltry hints we got to build a more realistic character. I figured that humanizing him would be the best way to make him more realistic. I always thought Kubo wasn't that good at giving his large cast the character development and progression they needed.**_

 _ **Just one more note. I'm sorry Orihime isn't in this chapter but I want to write what I wanna write. I love the enthusiasm but we have a lot of story in this fic. It can't always include JUST her.**_

 _ **Anyway that's all for now. Any questions please PM me. I hope I gave you guys a great chapter, I'm kinda nervous do to how rusty I am. I certainly hope to become a great writer but I can't do it without you. So until the next update stay gold!**_


	10. Riders Through The Oncoming Storm

Things hadn't gone exactly to plan for Retsu Unohana's rescue team to the world that had changed so much since she tossed away her first name. In fact, things were going downhill fast.

She had Mayuri Kurostuchi to thank for the predicament she and her group was in. It was his fault the portal was beginning to colaspe in on itself. The idiotic mutt didn't wire his toy properly. If he had planned this from the start, Unohana knew that he the traitor would not live to see the results of his petty betrayal.

As the eldest, wisest and most powerful of the rescue team sent to rescue Ichigo Kurosaki and his compatriots, she had the honor of being the first to go through the breach. She had gathered the best, those she knew had the talent, could heal quickly and could get around quietly enough to escape notice on the alien world… Though her instincts had told her that they were being watched even before she stepped into the doorway.

She was the only one who brought additional men. The rest of her fellow captains had either brought one or no one. Her heir had decided to bring his pint-sized lieutenant, mainly as a cheerleader for his barbarous immaturity. Kurostuchi was going to bring his prized but constantly suffering masterpiece of his narcissistic experimentations, a poor miserable woman who knew nothing but constant pain from her fathers shameless exploitation of her talents. And Kuchiki, being the pinnacle of pride and arrogance, decided that he was going in by himself, ostensively to wipe the stain on his honor clean. He had let both his adopted sister and subordinate disobey a direct order and that would not go unpunished.

Well now she was going in alone, probably going to die due Kisuke Urahara's mistake of pardoning that insane clown. Who was she kidding? He wasn't that different from him really, with the exception of his humility and actual achievements.

"Run faster, Kiyone!"

"I'm trying Sentaro! Besides, I bet I can run faster then you!" She heard a raspberry behind her back, showing that Isane's younger sister was not quite the same as her elder.

"Bring it on!" Sentaro roared, brandishing his fist at her face and fastening his already straining pace

"Both of you, quiet!" Her faithful number two snarled at the two transfer members, happy to show the much necessary maturity that the Gotei thirteen needed. "If you loose focus, you could both fall through the gargantua!" She had trouble spitting it out due to having to carry seat Hanataro Yamada on her back, him being so scared that when he wrapped his arms around her torso, he was squeezing her so hard her eyes were bulging out of her head, giving her the look a scarlet inflated Fugu.

The entrance behind was already shut and the burrow was closing, falling apart as the walls crashed into one and another. And the only exit was closing and getting smaller.

Unohana could have easily outpaced all of them and left them to die. That's what Yachiru would have done. But Yachiru was gone and would hopefully stay buried in the depths of her conscience until the day she died. Retsu meanwhile, was caring, a mother to her underlings and would never even think of abandoning them.

Isane, currently struggling to breathe gave her a look of worry. Since it was imprudent and taboo to have such a close relationship with your inferiors, they had long since known how to speak without talking. Right now Isane's facial expression was one of worry, which Unohana responded with an expression of calm determination.

So she released her Reiatsu, the invisible force shooting towards the closing gap and holding it up like an iron bar. It was now or never. Unohana gave the signal to Isane and Isane yelled at them to move faster.

Unohana leaped through the unsteady gateway landing on the ground with her sword impaled in the sands like a yardstick. Isane and Yamada followed, landing on her feet, but while thankfully the rest of her party managed to get through successfully, some of them made less then graceful landings. Kiyone in particular landed on Sentaro, his face crushed by her backside.

"Oh no! I crushed Sentaro! Breathe, Sentaro, breathe!" Kiyone screamed bashing his chest, unaware that getting a concussion and unable to draw breath are two very different things.

Unohana thanked Reio that she wasn't in her squad. Though thanking him it was kinda pointless considering-

"Captain. What do you want us to do? Do you perhaps want us to split up?"

Her lieutenant interrupted her dangerous thinking, making her notice the vibrating rabble swarming towards each other. It was clear that the other girls in her squad were smitten with the young lordling, judging by the rumors Isane would bring based on the gossip of her sister. This was quite apparent as the seemingly mature young ladies had immediately mobbed Yamada, punching, kicking, slapping, fighting like cats over him and each yelling at who was going to be in his squad. Much to Unohana's dismay, even Isane was blushing, looking jealous. Kiyone looked confused.

"No, Isane I want all of us to stay together. This is a strange unholy place. Besides none of you know where your going."

"Do you?" Isane asked.

Unohana smiled, chuckling embaressedly. "Not really. But I think my thousand years of expertise should guide us to Kurosaki-san." That and his dripping reiatsu. She hoped that they had made it in time. Ichigo Kurosaki had come to them in friendship and to right a wrong masqueraded by pure evil. Unohana hoped he wouldn't be the next link in a unbreakable chain of "friends" to the Soul Society. The very thought made her nauseous of a repeat but she had to focus on the task at hand. The elegent and seasoned captain turned around to lead the way through the sandy dunes.

"Uh… Uh-uh Captain Unohana?" The seat meekly tried to get her attention, barely escaping his lovesick admirers.

"Yes, Yamada san?" It was odd how different he was from his vain, brutal cancerous elder sibling. She wasn't trying to be threatening and he was shaking. It was completely mind boggling to learn he came from a noble family.

"Ar-are we going-going to save Inoue san as well?"

Her team stopped their infighting and stared directly at their commander, waiting uncomfortably for her reply. And Unohana knew why.

That human girl had one the hearts of the entire division, Unohana included without even trying. When she first came to their headquarters she spent almost her entire stay healing everyone, from those with minor injuries to the more serious maladies even she had trouble fixing. It got to the point where got emaciated from her long hours helping people, passing out from exuastion multiple times. Her power was certainly strange, making Unohana secretly wonder about the chances she would get that power in particular, a odd roll of the dice for a human…

But if anyone deserved it, it was definitely her. That young, friendly, ditzy human was one of the sweetest girls she had ever met. She obviously didn't have a violent bone in her body, which made Yamamoto's order to surveil her all the more infuriating. What was worse was that she had learned the spoiled monster Tokinada had his sights on her, and Kurostuchi stared at her hungry for knowledge to the secret source of her unique power.

She inwardly shuddered at the many rewards Mayuri had been given for leal surface to the Soul Society.

She couldn't believe that she would willingly join that monster Aizen's side. Yamamoto however was much more stern then her and his heart had hardened thick as iron long ago. So he had given her direct orders to either execute the poor girl or leave her to die, refusing any further arguments on the matter.

Well Yamamoto could fight her for her insolance. She wasn't going to leave the girl to suffer a fate worse then death.

So when she said yes, a cheer rose up high in the air, Unohana honestly couldn't help but join in a little.

.

.

.

Grimmjow hadn't even pondered the possibility of being more fucked then he was under Aizen. But life sought to shit on him more and more everyday

It had seemed like such a good idea the time. Threatened like a wounded animal he had responded with pure adrenaline. Attack the weaker prey of the herd that was the rule. It wasn't his forte nowadays but he should have remembered the rules of survival.

Many of his fellow Arrancars… They had forgotten. Once Aizen rescued them from themselves, they got all high and mighty, like they weren't the same pieces of shit that ate, murdered and fucked each other with woe abandon just a few decades ago.

Yet afterwards the routine justifications of either self satisfaction or self preservation ran dry like a stream bed. It wasn't just because his crucified ass was currently being torn to shreds and tossed to the ground like confetti.

It was to be expected. Ever since the woman had been forced into the fold, all Grimmjow had felt was doubt and new information that conflicted with his hardwired motives.

No, his instincts had told him, wait for Aizen's weaknesses to become apparent. Once he got a proper look at his armor, the chinks would become visible and show the soft throat and belly. Then he would rip him to pieces.

But he never did…

No his primal ego whispered you are one bad motherfucker. You are the king of all the enslaved bastards, they just didn't know it yet. But the five sons of bitches standing above him were always eager to prove him wrong, from the slimy asshole Nnoitira to the stoic and above it all Tier Harribel and the annoying bitch Odelschwank before her.

That didn't even get into Barragon and Stark whose power was so grand that his six sense told him to not even bother. Barragon wasn't even that special without his uncomprehendable powers and Starrk was so slothful that he would probably fall asleep while he was pummeling the crap out of him and not have a scratch on him.

No matter how much he resisted he was a prisoner to either his conscience or his rage. That was just the cherry topping of the shit sundae that had become his life.

So this was how this was going to end. Him impaled like a fucking kebob, his flesh torn out of him, his skin hanging like ribbons of wet paper mache hung a frame.

The fact that he was unable to die fighting was just salt in the wound and that bitter realization made more salt flow from eyes.

Inoue's longsword was in him. He couldn't move his right shoulder or his tendons and ligiments would be shredded and make his arm utterly useless. His left hand didn't fare much better as her Tanto was rammed through it.

Meeting his gaze and reflecting the evil within them, were Inoue's slitted pupils full of hatred and joy. But there was more joy then hatred in those orbs. The psychotic bitch probably didn't even give a shit about what had happened to her fraccion. It was definitely just a pretext to cause pain.

 _She_ was mocking him, _they_ were mocking, her smile was just a twisted, gnarled Jack O Lantern, a amalgamation of every bastard and bitch who had ever looked down on him. From Aizen to Nnoitira, even the scum like Szayel and Aaroniero, every last one of them were looking through Orihime Inoue's eyes, laughing at him, all the way to the end.

"So, Grimmjow kun..." Her voice ringed and echoed queerly in his ears. "Why do you continue to fight?"

Grimmjow struggled not to pass out, digging his nails into the meat of his palm sending a spasm of pain all the way up.

"What… What the fuck are you talking about? I fight because I'm my own king… I don't want anyone to pretend like they're the shit because they're more educated and stronger then me!"

Inoue giggled at that response. Then she twisted the Tanto deeper in his flesh, forcing her power into the cut, and causing deep cracks to spiderweb all the way to the ceiling. "But that's a lie! If you truly cared about being free you would have fought to the death."

"I would have died." Grimmjow complained.

"You'd still be free." Inoue retorted.

Funnily enough Grimmjow laughed at the absurdity of how much she was staying was true, though when his chest quaked the exposed abdominal flesh ignited intense stinging pain throughout his torso. "And what do the fuck do you think you are? You're just Aizen's lapdog like the rest of us."

The woman frowned then placed her long nimble fingers on a loose flap of skin. She picked at it with her index finger, pinched it, crumpled it up, and tore it off like wax paper. He didn't even scream. He just moaned and cried out weakly as his left nipple was flayed from his skin and stripped off like a price tag.

The part that pissed him off and brought him the most shame was that he was starting to get hard. He read somewhere it was an involuntary impulse but that didn't heal his injured pride. Inoue's eyes lit up in surprise, then the visage of sick amusement.

He pinched his dick, cruelly twisting and smashing his member. Then she racked it with her talons, shanking off some pubic skin and pant fibers. There was now a fork like scar forever sketched on the side of his shaft.

Grimmjow roared in absolute fury, tears silently dripping to the floor, adding to the congealed pile of blood. "You bitch! I'll fucking kill you!" Once he was motionless and now he struggling to escape his futile fate, no longer thinking rationally.

Inoue cackled, then got closer to lick the tears off of his calloused face. When he felt her tongue on his cheeks, the Espada could also feel bits of soft chewed up material being sloppily ingrained on his cheekbones with every starved lick.

The predator had become prey.

 _So that's how its gonna be?_

That was such a sick joke of an irony that he actually begun to laugh, getting loud and boisterous in an instant. Orihime ceased his torment just to try and understand what was going on.

"I'll give you one last chance to stop you crazy bitch. Proclaim me king, I'll even kiss your ass like Aizen..." Grimmjow collected energy in his free palm, his blood forming the impetus of his insane act of destruction as he realized spitting in the bitches face to show one final defiance was more important to him then his life.

A tiny ball of harsh blue spiritual pressure ballooned from the size of a pea to a softball. The lightning like streams perfectly brightened the look of confusion terror and fright that the male never thought was achievable on all of the smug cunt's faces.

Inoue jumped backwards, pulling her longsword out of his shoulder but that was a rookie mistake. Even if his arm felt like lead, his posture was askew and his bicep trembled due to sudden overuse, Grimmjow knew he had the bitch.

Fuck you! That was the best last words he could think of at that particular moment, but he didn't have time to improvise because the overconfident succubus had her sword cocked behind and over her shoulder.

Grimmjow fired point blank, the explosion spreading wide in arc and hitting his target.

The blue fire and the force of the impact singed his bloody wounds and destroyed what little remained of his clothing along with the wall behind him. Forcing his will on gravity seemed to have his benefits after all. Before losing consciousness while flying through the air to certain death, Grimmjow used the last of his failing strength to wrest the shank from his hand, throwing it with one final flick of his arm before it too failed.

Grimmjow was more then happy to have Inoue's screams be his lullaby to Hell.

.

.

Before escaping into the desert, Nel only had a few nightmarish glimpses of her former life, muddled by her diminished mental capacity and amnesia.

She daydreamed about being a knight, her friends being a grumpy cat, a shark lady, a lazy dog, a kinda scary skeleton man, and a _really_ scary octopus. There was a sea anemone there too, but for some reason she didn't think about him as much…

But she did imagine her king. He was stern, but proud and just. Her reaction to him had been one of fear at first but that melted into respect and love when he picked her to be in his

She would tell this to Pesche and Dondochakka and they would oblige her in her childish fantasies, being funny by saying cuss words when they started to lose. They were such good brothers!

But sometimes when the light of the moon dimmed, she dreamed. Oh god she dreamed

Her nightmares involved her brother getting his face ripped by a giant bug with a mans face while a monster laughed behind her. When she turned around a faceless blob adorned with pink caressed her face, before his jaw split open to reveal a wide mouth full of needles and cruelty.

Nel would wake up screaming then. Of course her brothers would always tell her it was a dream, and turn her tears of fear into tears of joy when they played the clown to cheer her up. They even took her into the dunes to find a pet!

Though that was made superflous by the fact that she chose the worm inside Dondochakka's tummy, finding it cute.

There was only one time that they were serious.

Once a party of Hollows let by one blue haired man went trashing around her favorite playground. (The rocks had caves for playing hide and go seek, and basalt animal "statues") Nel was at first excited for some new playmates. But her wonder waned when she saw them curse and be mean towards each other. So, Nel hid above a small plateau watching them destroy the animals. Nel cried out in childish rage and disappointment but hid when she felt their power spike.

Thankfully there were enough eroded outcroppings for her vocals to travel and bounce in different directions, and her power was so minute that the strangers didn't even feel it. Nel ran as quick as she could and told her brothers about them. They immediately freaked out and yelled at her for running off.

Nel apologized and their tone softened. She should have known, it has always been like this. Shinigami and any other Arrancar were bad people that would kidnap her and take her away.

Still Nel's trust was easy to obtain. That was why she hadn't ran away when she saw her "Itsygo."

The man was nothing like the stories her siblings told. Shinigami were supposed to be killers, monsters who attacked defenseless hollows just for existing. He was kind, brave, and sweet.

 _Everything her king was not._

As she spent more and more time traveling with her newfound friends, she had started remembering certain thing things. Things that she distantly remembered hearing somewhere, it was so long ago. Things like "Massokism" and "Throat Penises". How to get inside the palace of Las Noches, and who the Espada were despite the fact that she had never seen them before…

But she chose to ignore such bouts of deija vu, focusing more on her playing with her new friend (and possible crush), not realizing the true danger, any sense of fear being sharply dulled and clouded by her own naivety.

But then she couldn't ignore it anymore.

While playing which who she could safely say was a better steed than either of her brothers, Ichigo tripped, sending Nel flying. She safely landed on her feet midflip, raising her hands up for imaginary applause.

That was when she realized that this was the longest she had spent away from her brothers. Even when she went off to play, Pesche and Dondochakka were always in walking distance. So Nel, missing them, decided to use perquisa to check up on them.

When she picked them up, Nel froze.

When she had felt energy suddenly quicken, stagnate, descend, then disappear, Dondochakka had always told her it was an earthquake bringing up gasses or something like that. But Nel wasn't completely naive. Despite their best intentions, Nel had seen death… Where she could not say, but her basic survival instincts made the hair on the back of her neck stood up like the stalagmites in the caves.

Nel couldn't cry, yell out, or move. Her usual innocent denials were blown away with the grains of sand flowing through the wind. She whimpered quietly to herself, unable to fully process her emotions.

When Ichigo asked her what the problem was, Nel replied non intellectually, struggling to even speak.

What do you mean they'll fading? Ichigo knew but he asked anyway, his voice getting louder and more pitched as he tried to get more information.

Nel finally started sobbing, her voice stuttering and hiccuping. "Their energy… They… Dare dying!"

"Nel were are they? Which direction are you sensing them from?"

"I dunno…"

"Nel please its important!"

Nel started to cry louder, but in turn Ichigo got louder.

"Damnit Nel, shut up and focus! If I don't know where they are they're going to die!" Ichigo didn't intend to be so harsh but panic and subconscious signals took over his mind and body. Contrary to what he predicted would happen, Nel only started to shake in response to his sudden outburst.

"I think… I think…. Over there?" Nel pointed to the west. Ichigo cursed and grabbed Nel by the arm.

Nel's face was windburnt and cold form cooling tears, her arm sore by how roughly Ichigo grabbed it. She was dazed and nauseous when Ichigo dropped her on a dune, barely hearing his yell. As she lay on the soft ivory sand, sobbing at her inability to do anything.

 _He needs you…_ He's going to die if you don't... A voice suddenly whispered inside.

 _Huh?_ Nel didn't understand. She thought to herself that Ichigo didn't need her, that he was stronger then anybody, even Aizen-

 _No, listen closely… Can you hear it?_

 _Hare what?_

 _He's not winning against him…_

 _Who?_

 _You know who he is. Go._

Nel gulped, swallowed and got up, shaking from fear. She nearly tumbled like a falling tree several times, her tiny uneven and unsteady soles sliding and tripping over the white grains as she made it to the garish ruins. Nel had never seen so many colors in one place, making her wonder if the stone was imported from somewhere else other then the desert. Faded sapphire reds, tan golds, emerald greens, lapis blues and other different shades of colors she hadn't even seen before.

The gaudy stone the derelict reminded Nel of a bird she read about in… In… In where? Her head was starting to implode from the sudden flow of uncharted consciousness, it was like there was someone else living inside her head, thinking and remembering. She hit her temples with her fists in attempt to lessen the pain but that only made it worse.

Her heartbeat was dangerously high, as loud as a church bell. How did she know that? Whatsa… Please stop, stop stop! She couldn't see anything in front of her as she looked through the eyes of someone taller, sometimes there, sometimes here, sometimes nowhere,

Finally sit stopped as she bumped her head and stubbed her toe against a unseen piece of stone. She opened her eyes, though partially blinded by the tears at least she can finally see., could finally see. In front of her was a small hill. She peeked her head from behind and saw...

Nel couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her mouth stood agape, her lip trembling, and trembling, trembling again.

Ichigo knelt on the colorless dunes, sobbing and beating his fists on the ground. His long obsidian sword lied vertically, dug so deep it would have left an imprint.

Standing above him was the monster she had glimpsed thousands of times. But only now in the living flesh.

In her nightmares but this more horrific then anything out of her whimsical Imagination. His body was that of a man, not a a monstrosity coglomoration of pink but that didn't comfort the unknowing Espada. It was his smile that frightened her. His mouth full of needles and razors had not changed.

There was something uncanny, something wrong, something that stoke a unconscious unease whenever she gaved upon that creatures face. Smiles were meant to be a sign of joy but every time he parted his emasculine worm like lips, it was as if she was stuck in one of the layers of the underworld, Aizen- sama had said humans visualized wrong-

Another migrane cleaved her brain in half once again She clutched her turquoise locks so tightly, that when she sneezed she accidentally ripped some of them out roots and all.

This distraction allowed her to escape the aching prison originating from inside her brain. Once she looked up, she saw a sight that made her terrified heart finally flutter.

Ichigo had picked up his sword! He was going to defeat the monster, like the knights and samurai she had read about. Kick his but Itsygo!

Ichigo then grabbed his sword with both hands… Why was he doing that? Ichi- no Itsygo pointed his sword towards himself, his brow furrowed and his eyes closed. _No, Itsygo stop!_ The light glistened off the blade as Ichigo thrust it into his abdomen.

Nel screamed.

His black robes reddened and moistened as blood gushed unto the ground. A foot of black metal protruded out of his back, tainted by the scarlet waves. Ichigo fell backwards and Nel ran towards him, unable to even cry, begging for someone, anyone, to save them

 _You can save him._ The whispering voice became louder and clearer.

Nel stopped in her tracks as another headache. This one was more terrible then the last. But… A milisecond went by and it was it gone.

Suddenly she wasn't afraid, shaking, or even in pain. All misery from the influx of information was fading. She held her head to the side as power flowed through her.

It had taken this long to remember everything. Heh, the blow my head must have been bad. Now it was time to return. She would protect her comrades and make the bastard pay. Now it was Szayel's turn to be afraid.

"You leave itsygo alone!" And so Nel the helpless child once again became Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck.

A big boom resonated in the air as Nel exploded into pink smoke. The gas spread with the updraft of wind and vortex of reiatsu all the way to the top of the colossal monument. A feminine silloulette emerged as the smoke dissipated.

Standing tall and aloft was a beautiful and deadly figure. Her body was curvaceous, voluptous and shapely at both the front of the chest and around the hips. It was barely covered by the remnants of green rags even Szayel would find lewd. Other then the makeup under her eyes and the demonic equid helm adorning her like a crown the only accessory was her katana with the double crescent hilt.

Her face erudite and stern, her hazel eyes full of vengeful rage and just like that she was sprinting towards her friends tormentor.

She knew that she can destroy him easily. His strength was in his great intelligence, not in his fighting ability, and she could tell from the look of confusion and shock running through his eyes that the scientist couldn't think of a way out of this one. She wanted to cut off all his limbs, open him up and spill his guts all over the desert floor, anything to make him suffer. She would tear him apart, kill him, eat-

A whisper in the air brought her back to her senses. "Inoue… I gotta save her. I… I can't die! Ichigo sobbed weakly. He was barely conscious, trying to drag himself away from where he lied, blood forming a smeared trail in the sand. Nel skidded to a halt and ran to him.

"Itsygo!" Nel knelt to his side, holding his head up. It wasn't looking good. His pupils were dangerously dilated, his skin waxy and palid, his breathing uneven and his life fluids covering his black robes. Look at me, look at me don't fall asleep!

Oddly enough as Ichigo struggled to keep his lids open, he offered a weak, sad smile. Sparkling tears ran in his eyes as he spoke.

"Inoue… You made it."

 _He's thinks I'm his_ _friend._ Nel both felt pride at his devotion to his friend and jealously. That just made it worse.

"Inoue… Thank you. I didn't fail you at least… You gotta go… Forget about us…"

"No, Ichigo. This time it's my turn to protect you." She grabbed the hilt as Nel looked stricken. "Please forgive me. This is going to hurt."

"No Inoue your too- AAHH!"

Ichigo screamed in torment, making Nel rue Szayel even more. She carefully pulled the blade from the wound, slowly and precisely as not to nick any major arteries or organs. Nel's plan wasn't to remove the blade but rather artificially clot it to avoid any further bloodloss. Nel was lucky to have been so chatty in the past. If she hadn't talked up a storm with the nurses and barber-surgeons, she would have no idea what to do.

Eventually she found the sweet spot and the bleeding subsided. Ichigo's throat, scratchy and shuddering from screaming in agony, gave a pathetic croak before finally calming and relaxing his muscles.

Nel realized then that Szayel hadn't said a word or moved from his spot. This was a problem because Szayel was many things. A flamboyant exibitionist who was addicted to himself for one but even afraid he couldn't help but use his tongue to breathe poison to the listeners ears. He may have been a coward with an inordinate amount of pragmatic common sense but his madness outweighed that two to one.

"Szayel." Nel slowly, annoyedly and warningly exclaimed. "I know you're planning something."

Szayel laughed but unlike all the other times she thought there a hint of a nervous titter in his usually cocksure arrogance. "Oh really? How do you know? Perhaps I ran away minutes ago and you're just conversing with my reflection?"

"No this time it's you." Nel neither had the time or was in the mood to play the showboating smartasses games. She picked up her sword from the ground, still not agknowledging the dandy by turning to face him. "You should have ran when you had the chance."

To Nel's surprise, the eighth Espada giggled at the threat of certain death. "I assure you if I thought my fabulous mind couldn't beat your brawny insipid strength, I would quite far away by the time that you were done copulating with your… Boy toy? Honestly I didn't know you were-"

Nel cut him off. "You wanna know why you didn't run? It's because you couldn't risk anyone finding out the source of the stink eminating from your trousers." _Though knowing you, you probably enjoyed it._

Nel took satisfaction in the indignant growing that Szayel responded with. Soon enough he remembered that he could speak actual words. "You should look on your left shoulder Ms. Odelschwack. It's about time."

 _Time? What does he mean…_ Nel twisted her head to see and was both disgusted and shocked at the same time. A microscopic glob of the creature's fluid was splattered, mostly on her upper sleeve but enough of it on her soft flesh. She knew what technique the vermin has used

Her peripheral vision gave her all the warning she needed. As her clones raked her back, cutting the epidermis and scraping the ink off the tattoo showing off her former rank, Nel slung Ichigo over her shoulder, and flipped backwards When she landed her naked soles ground in the particles, her heels digging in the grains to stop her momentum. She had a wide enough birth to see the danger.

Nel would never notice any of perverse and creepy changes Szayel made to her spitting images. What she did notice was that each of the slim imitations had their copies of Gamuza pressed against the necks of Ichigo's others friends and her own Fraccion. Most of the dying party was still conscious! Why the hell did she forget about them? They were in worse shape then Ichigo!

Nel glared furiously at their tormentor. She could tell by the sweat beating down his forehead and into his makeup, that he was uncomfortable, uncertain, afraid. Nel ground her teeth together. The bastard thought he was so much smarter then anybody else, probably even Aizen. But narcissism and great intelligence were two different things. Aizen could crush him like a bug and so could she.

WHOOSH.

Just like that Nel vanished, her body next appearing in front of Szayelapporo Granz. Gamuza was pointed directly between the eyes, a centimeter away breaking the skin. Nel hacked upward, slashing the skin and band of bone and keraton on the top of his forehead. As a result an inch of the thick line connecting the right lens was cracked, broken and scraped off.

Szayel yelped and jumped backwards but Nel didn't let him go. She stepped on uneven ground, something was clearly buried under her, maybe a piece of rubble. That was when Szayel paused his pace and smirked.

That was when the ground fell from beneath her feet and so the trap closed on Nel and Ichigo.

Szayel coughed, then laughed maniacally his jaw opened wide like a snake. "You honorable imbecile, you I hadn't prepared for close quarters combat? You should have attacked from behind! But no matter what side you thrust your big long sword, I would have ducked to the either side and play the part of the palsied infant! What's the matter, do you _not_ want to be eaten? The truth is I have wanted to have a taste of you for a long-"

Szayel's bragging was interrupted when he realized his beautiful flying maw wasn't shut comepletely. More scientifically, one side was protruding outwards as if something was wedged…

 _No it can't be!_

The engorged phalic tentacles holding his prize were bisected, cut into half, then thirds, then fifths then hundreds. Nel had made her escape.

Covered in dark green ichor, Nel slipped out of the perverse stomach, landing half squat on the dainty ruins.

"SZAYEL!" Nel screamed, swinging her juice covered sword at the scientists neck.

He didn't even have time to scream as the razor sharp blade slid through his flesh. The look of dumbfounded shock and final fear remained frozen of his face but the light went out of his eyes in little then two seconds.

His blood or rather his colaguated slime gushed out of his neck like tiny streams before the dam finally let the river run free. He fell on his knees, then his falling head landed hit the ground with a loud smack.

Nel wiped the monsters fluids off of Gamuza but as the blade got cleaner Nel sighed and looked away from her deceased compatriot, unsatisfied.

.

.

.

Her chest hurt.

Even though the incision had healed with nary a scar to be be seen on her supple skin, the pain from the sword still brought forth quakes of pain to her breast. It had been such a strange, foreign sensation that it brought her to her knees, not from the inches of short steel penetrating her chest but because she thought that she would never feel it again.

The absurdity of the near death experience was such a hard thing for her to comprehend. She had thought that through her rebirth she had discarded such petty, pointless, and irrelevant emotions. Once she had tore off the chrysalis that entrapped her, she thought that she would never have to fear being weak again.

But the stray cat had released his claws, even when she started pulling them out. That might actually be the difference between Ichigo, and Grimmjow. She never even thought about it before, as her love for Kurosaki-Kun had been so great that she had refused to see any flaws in the boy.

This particular difference was night and day. Grimmjow had been a feral, rabid tomcat who would claw at any who attempted to pet him, more wild then domesticated. Ichigo meanwhile, was an orphaned kitten, irritable but still sweet.

She had thought about going after him but why bother? He was either dead or dying. And based on the documentaries she had seen in The World Of The Living, he wouldn't exactly be anything else but a pile of bones stripped of it's flesh by the time she got to the crater he landed in. Even if he did survive she would make certain that he wouldn't live long.

Still, the memory of her humiliation still coursed through her, boiling her already steaming blood. She had panicked and actually felt fear. When the blade hit her, she had just stood transfixed on the spot, unable to realize what had just happened for a few seconds. The pain finally hit her when she looked down, forced to lean forwards do to her breasts almost entirely obscuring the view.

She screamed, the once forgotten stimuli making her cry out, and sob. She couldn't breath, shook her head, clawed the ground and punched the ground so hard that the all the walls of throne room which had been hastily rebuilt shattered and flew away from the impact.

Cal had come to her side, but Orihime slapped her, creaking five bloody scratches on her face.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! I'll make him pay, I'll make him… Pay."

Thankfully striking Cal had calmed her down, and allowed her to gather the strength necessary to regain her senses. She ripped the Tanto out of her chest causing a river of blood to come flooding out, She gathered golden energy on her left hand and shakily placed it on her wound coughing up blood in the process.

She barely managed to heal herself in time.

Oddly enough, she felt another emotion she had thought was long since scraped away from her.

Remorse.

Slapping Cal had felt worse the wound in her chest. She slowly got up and comforted the sobbing girl crawled up in a ball. What exactly she said, Orihime didn't remember but she did remember healing her scars and promising to never hit her again.

She was getting annoyed with all these surprises. Her clothes had been ruined as well, so she had to get new ones. Since she hadn't a clue as to where she was going she had Cal walk her to Aizen's dresser hoping to get her mind off this unpleasentness.

But her efforts were in vain. She couldn't stop thinking about. So in a moment of introspection she decided that she test her powers before going to play with her friends.

At this moment, while waiting nude in the dressing room for Cal to return with her many choices of apparel. Orihime decided to test her physical limits. Cal had been more then happy to help pick out clothes, running excitedly out of the room to find her a new uniform. This actually brought a non sadistic smile on her face but she went to the task at hand.

She started by cutting her arm, making straight horizontal slashes on her bicep. Though Orihime wouldn't be proud to admit it, it actually was pretty scary and made her cry. But soon enough the cuts started to appear automatically, and got deeper and deeper until they hit the bone. The stimuli that had once brought her to her knees was starting to feel trivial indeed.

Actually it felt quite good.

It took her three times to hack off her arm. It cracked, the bone split in half hanging loosely off her arm, and then the skin and tissue connecting her arm and shoulder was cut off as well. To her immense surprise. It grew back immediately and not because of her godly powers. It most have been an actual quirk of her species that didn't transfer well through Arrancarification.

Curious and aroused, Orihime started to play around with the blade. She stuck the blade in her mouth, cutting her cheeks, her tongue and the roof as she rolled it around. She pulled the blade out of her mouth, taking glory in the blood and saliva dripping from it. She then moved down to her breasts cutting her nipples vertically as the scars on her mounds crisscrossed each other.

She didn't even have to part the blade between her legs though she wondered how that would have felt. She orgasmed there and then, having her never felt so great in her life.

How could she had spent her life missing this? She had never tasted such sweet release as a human. Her confidence restored, she wondered what she was going to do with Ichigo, Aizen, and the rest.

Right then Cal came in, carrying a bundle of clothes. The set included a miniskirt, a crop top, cutoffs and…

A brown runspun cloak.

Orihime smiled, know knowing how she was going to play with her friends.

.

.

.

 _ **AND DONE!**_

 _ **Surprised for the sudden update? Found a way to ease the time I procrastinate and work on both my original works and fanfics without the fear of being exhausted. It was so simple I feel like a fucking idiot for not realizing sooner. I certainly hope the quantity over quality rule doesn't apply here. I only got a single review last time and I'm worried.**_

 _ **I hope I treated the sexual parts with the maturity they deserve. Just to make it clear these were not intended to be smut, I hate rape on every victim. The trope that men couldn't be assaulted is dangerous and complete bullshit by the way. If you have that fetish, I don't really have any reason to judge you as long as you don't act on it in real life. But this wasn't meant to be that.**_

 _ **Also I hope to include as much humor as is comfortable with the scene in question not only because that's the spirit of Bleach to have humor during the most innaproppiate of times but that's how real life works. It may be a nightmare of misery and Old Ones but there is as much happy as is their sad moments in life. That's how humanity works and I hope to capture the essence of that even being a novice.**_

 _ **After all, do you want to read a cliché story with predictable outcomes, flat characters and wish fulfillment or do you want to read a realistic, symbolic, sometimes tragic sometimes triumphant, deconstruction of the Shonen battle genre?**_

 _ **Me too. (:**_

 _ **Also for those worrying Orihime is becoming a villian sue… Don't. She's a lot more complicated then you think, more like ASOIAF's Euron Greyjoy then Game Of Thrones crappy Ramsey Bolton. Even Hitler liked Dogs after all. And I'm sure Lovecraftian evil spirits like em too.**_

 _ **See ya later! Please review I wanna see this through to the end and any attention makes me happy! Hope you guys love it!**_

 _ **UPDATE (2/21/18)**_

 _ **For those wondering why its taken longer then usual for any of my stories to be updated, thank my shitty mental health for the delay. I put it here because quite a minute amount of people read my profile or DeviantArt. If you guys really want to make me feel better and get a sooner chapter, please leave a review or message to inspire me to write more. It would really help! (:**_

 _ **Now this doesn't mean I haven't stopped writing entirely: I have started many creepypastas and wrote the outlines for a plethora of chapters for this, HM and others, hint hint, nudge nudge. The problem is actually completing them and trying to juggle my newfound responsibilities with my hobbies (Which I want to make into a job by the way.) in a way that keeps me focused and satisfied.**_

 _ **So Hopefully now it won't be as long.**_


	11. A Lady's Bloodstained Favor

Dreams have never been that memorable for Uryu Ishida. When he recalled the few grainy memories of his sire not being a total asshole, he would tell him that based on what he learned in medical school, dreams were the unconscious thoughts, desires and wants of an individual.

Of course he was six at the time, and even his obsessive pursuit of knowledge in the written form was still incomplete at the department of fancy wording and explanations of higher level thinking. Ryuken wasn't patient or kind enough to spend his time on his own son anyway.

If that was true and dreams were simply visions for what he wanted to be in the future then his were completely useless.

He had long reasoned that to his displeasure, his father's rational scientific mind had rubbed off on him and ruined his imagination beyond repair. Though his grandfather and his mother when she was in his life was more then happy to encourage an imaginative, curious mind, happy to let him daydream about the stories Soken would tell him about the knights that guarded the founder of the Quincy, the tales of perseverance over unholy threats, last stands against Shinigami, hymns, epics, ballads, histories, folklore and more engrossing tales of chivalry that Uryu treasured to this day.

Even then, the young Quincy always had little recollection of his dreams. The best he could recall were incoherent pieces of synthenesia, objects and symbols without much meaning. White light blinding him; shadows moving spreading and twisting like kudzu; an Quincy cross painted red; crows wearing black robes and…

And…

Orange hair.

The gender of the subject that owned the apricot roots always changed. Sometimes it was boy, sometimes it was a lady, both were faceless silouettes of average height and build. The only reason these psuedo-dreams were any way remarkable was that they were common enough to warrant forming of deja vu.

Uryu had never connected the two to either his most bitter rival or his friend. Why would he? He'd only gone to public high school to spite his father, rejecting any offers of private institutions naturally fit for the only child of the youngest hospital director in the entire country.

It did take some getting used to. Karakura was basically Japan's closest analog to a favela or at least as close as its politeness would allow, so bad compared to the rest of the nation that even the Yakuza stayed clear of the place. The school was full of delinquents like a shrine was full of offerings. Those future Yankii and Bosozuko had thought of him as easy pickings, just another nerd to displace their animalistic rage upon and use as a human pin cushion.

Well that was their fatal mistake. Them relying on brute force mixed with him having precise knowledge of the human body was a combo that tipped the scales of any altercation into his favor. They left him alone after a few hard earned lessons in pain and from that day on he left everyone else alone too.

He was find with being alone but not okay with stewing in his own angst infused juices like he would later find out his rival subsisted in. So he decided to join a club. He had no interest in any of the sports related extraculicuars, much to the Karate teams dismay. Instead he choose the Handicrafts club, being more interested in making his own outfits.

His blossoming sense of fashion, inadvertedly stoked by his grandfather had finally bore ripe fruit in middle school. Learning how to sew and create art out of bolts of cloth proved quite beneficial to his self esteem. It was a good outlet for his rage towards his father, towards the Shinigami who abandoned his grandfather, to himself for being unable to stop the hollows…

There was one thing he noticed about the club rightaway, his skill of observing any potential threats as versatile as ever.

First and foremost the club was almost entirely populated by _girls._

Uryu his intelligence still sharp as a Seele Schneider somehow had never foreseen this, not taking into account the hyper masculinity of his male schoolmates. To say it took some getting used was like saying loosing an arm was no big deal and you could overcome Phantom Limb Syndrome in one day. Uryu his face pink and ruddy, couldn't talk for at least a couple weeks, all culluminating when in an ultimately futile attempt to ignore two girls talking about their… _Training bras_ , he accidentally sewed a button on his finger without even noticing.

And so from that day Uryu would hate buttons with the passion of a thousand fiery suns.

Another curious thing happened that day. From the time he joined the club, the female members- as in all the members- had taken an immediate, reactionary dislike and distrust to his intentions. While Uryu's true reasoning to his actions were of numbing the painful emptiness incurred from loosing his only loving parental figures, the girls had made the assumption that he had only joined to be a pervert.

At the start they only ignored him, pretending that he didn't exist and refusing to agknowledge his very prescene unless forcibly prompted by the clubs rather absent sponsor.

This was the awkward stage in between end of childhood and beginning of puberty. When Uryu had decided to make the entire class Club shirts on a whim, they didn't realize that he could tell their measurements with an exact glance, as red filled as it was. He had put each shirt in his classmates spots, having gotten there early to place them carefully inside the nook.

When they had finally arrived, they squealed in delight at the discovery, holding up their gifts to each other, asking each other who had created the shirts. But when Uryu told them he had done it, he accidentally made it slip that he knew their exact sizes, which obviously gave him tons of scorn.

They would just glare at him after that, refusing to partner with him at all and would keep pulling cruel pranks on the young Quincy in retribution for his perceived perversions. At one point they even put thumbtacks on chair, sending him to the nurse but being more hurt by his growing isolation then any cut to his cheek.

Those girls were expelled but Uryu just accepted his fate as a necessary side effect of the path he had chosen to take. His life would not be the one his father wanted. He would allow himself to have spectacular grades, many of his subconscious eagerness to over achieve but that would be it. He would not be a doctor that failed constantly and have to cut open his wife and father.

What he wanted was to save people, both living _and_ dead. To honor his grandfather's teachings of mercy, honor and chivalry. To continue the traditions his people had been forced to give up, and to make absolutely certain that he would never be weak again.

And if that involved crying himself to sleep every night then so be it.

Like everything he thought he knew about the handicrafts club, that assumption was proven to be nothing more then an incorrect hypothesis. While the girls did think he was just there to harass them, the young women slowly begun to come to their senses. As hormonal and territorial as they were, even they had a sense of shame and reason. So, when Uryu had to go to the hospital to get his homemade stitches removed, they had pitched in to create a giant card with matching gloves, all signed by the same females who had picked on him just days ago.

Most of the immature gorillas who leered at him probably would have thought thought his life had turned into the plot of some harem manga. But real life didn't work that way and Uryu was the kind of guy who was actually glad that it didn't. Because the girls started confiding in Uryu about "personal stuff"… mainly cause they thought he was gay but that's a different dream not appropiate for this introspective near death experience.

Uryu desperately wanted to have some sort of social link with an peer but he quickly decided to emotionally keep his distance. He thanked Yhwach that he could easily hide his spiritual pressure. A lot of his school mates had unwieldy but ever present amounts of reiryoku that didn't need to be stocked and fed. Uryu couldn't risk them being a target for assassination for the Shinigami nor would he allow them to become Hors D'oeurve for any predatory hollow. He would rather be a jerk to everybody then see another person he cared about die.

Unlike his former attempts, this pragmatic act of isolationism sorta worked. People ceased to invite him to social functions or ask him to hang out outside of school, often avoiding him due to his cold nature. The girls however seemed to find the sudden change of character more amusing than intimidating.

Time blurred and melted into one familiar scene after another, all repetitive actions of a man slowly dying both in the present and in the past. Though seasons changed, the memories sped past himself, all too similar for any deeper reflection. Or maybe the oxygen was being cut off from Uryu's brain due to the blood being deposited within his lungs, he didn't know it would probably result in the same lonely death to him.

His daily rituals seemed to all comglomerate into one infinite stream of consciousness that was in the middle of being stretched but had begun to tear now that the full length had been reached as it then was expanded and overextended. His obsessive hunt for hollows became an oil painting, the realistic but bright colors of the day and night reflective of his obsessive pursuit to continue his identity. His memories of home was a cold minimalistic field packed with black ghosts scurrying about to avoid the wrath of the demon that was head of Household.

When he finally faced snowy lock frilled demon, he stared backed with sapphire eyes crystalized by self hatred, refusing to respond to any curse, cry or scream of frustration. He glared right back at him, his voice shouting but not uttering any decernable syllables, as up became down and their eyes became one, unable to tell which of the two was crying.

The twisted sense of vertigo and reality only seemed to get worse when the static filled playback of his history arrived at the club. The environment sank into itself like quicksand with the handicraft supplies turning into shapeless but vivid puddles of color. Faces which had once been ingrained into his memory were nothing but faceless manniquins moving of their own accord. Everything started to get fuzzy around the edges as the he fell in the void and darkness took away his sight.

But he didn't die.

A shining light cleared Uryu's mind allowing him to return to thinking rationally, intellectually and most importantly able to comprehend his surroundings. He was floating in a dark void, with blue firefly like motes floating past past him. And so just like that he was standing with the sight of flowing caramel hair inches from his face.

The women turned the back of her head to face Uryu, revealing the beautiful, heavenly face of Orihime Inoue.

Uryu recalled their first meeting quick as a bolt of lightning. The final year of middle school had begun and the year had seemed to start the same as the last two, only the dread of beginning high school next year dampening the spirits of the alumni like the spring rain but only slightly. Uryu had walked into school and noticed her for the first time, surrounded by her little but ever growing herd of friends and admirers, often pecked off by her fiesty raven haired guardian angel for her own good.

To Uryu's latter shame, he had thought she was another vain vapid girl hungry for popularity and swatted those she thought were lesser then herself away like flies. A girl like that can't possibly be a good person right? She was just like the rich kids

Boy was he glad he was wrong.

This was Uryu's first recollection of hearing Orihime talk. Or to be accurate hearing her infamous rants.

No Orihime you can't run on walls… Tatsuki sighed, exasperated in what Uryu would later learn would be a vicious constant struggle to keep Orihime's craziness from fully taking over her brain.

Uryu remembered some giggling from the crowd that was clustered around the pair like barnicles. Orihime was standing with her back slightly bent, her lip quivering and her eyes watery. It was like looking at a puppy, he couldn't help but feel bad for her.

She bit her lip. "But the documentary-"

"It wasn't a documentary _it was a cartoon_!"

Uryu always thought it was amazing how Orihime could go from sad to sweet in less then half a second. It kinda reminded him of a light bulb but instead of turning on and off it switched into shades reflecting her moods.

Much to Uryu's surprise he couldn't help but smile.

About a week or so later Orihime would join the sewing club, with Tatsuki being carried on her arm. If looks could kill, then the look Tatsuki gave the bespectacled middle schooler should have made him die on his feet. Obviously his Y-Chromosomes were a potentially fatal threat to Orihime. It took a while for her to get used to him. Uryu had attempted to towards her and her rebuttal was her throwing him to the other side of the room,

He didn't quite remember what happened next he was too busy staring at the bright dulcet eyes of the girl he had risked his life and his father's wrath to save. Those sweet eyes that reflected back at the world with optimism in utter defiance of what had happened in her past… Uryu was not about to forget the days he and her spent hiding and running in the Soul Society. For when Orihime had begun to talk to him again, for the first time Uryu responded with something more the icy courtesy.

And this time he didn't ignore her.

All those offers to spend time with her, to be with her, to have a smile put on his and most importantly her face… Why didn't he take them when he had the chance? Never before had Uryu realized just how selfish he was shutting himself away from human contact. Even if he had little to say, just being in her aura seemed to brighten everything up.

Even her power had manifested only through her kindly spirit, six fae that served to protect. Even the rowdy hot headed brunette seemed to be more of an imitation of Orihime's image of Tatsuki then anything that had come from her consciousness.

She didn't deserve this. To be blessed with such a compassionate ability but in tandem unable to protect herself due to the same exact thing that gave her power resolve.

Uryu had realized that much in the Soul Society when she refused to fight the so called Kamaitachi had tried to murder her. Poor Inoue could barely fight back, for unlike Hollows Shinigami more or less took the appearance of humans and Uryu knew that in Orihime's mind even a fat brute that had tried to murder her was worth crying over.

That time together was a gift but a meloncoly would could after that.. Though he had lost his powers he could still see the Shinigami spying on her. Uryu scowled at them and sent them warning glances but they just laughed at his lack of reiatsu. He would never know if they were sent by the sadistic bastard who relished in torturing others or were sent by the old commander to ascertain her danger to their order. She clearly made too much of a scene, healing all of them selflessly Uryu thought sarcastically to himself.

And what did Orihime Inoue do when she finally saw that they were following her? Most people would find it suspicious, even worrying. Not her. She simply waved at the pair smiling and invited them inside. At one point she even left out sweets for the potential assassins, with a note telling them to say high to Rukia for her.

Uryu understood why the Quincy had to go. They were a threat to the balance of the worlds. But how could Orihime possibly be a threat to the Soul Society?

Orihime stared at Uryu the same way she glanced at Ichigo, blushing and giggling nervously to herself. Uryu gaped back at her shocked. He didn't know how to respond, his entire face slack. Ichigo was a dolt who was too stupid to see what was right in front of him,, he knew that he didn't know what everyone else already had realized.

But… Why… Why was he feeling this right now? He didn't love Orihime, at least not like that. He was supposed to be the chivalrous knight, bound by duty to not take advantage of woman in anyway and that meant staying single.

What if…

What if…

Suddenly either Orihime was kissing him or he was kissing her. He couldn't tell but he did know that the sudden soft pressure on his lips felt good. His mind was trying to get back control of his body but his sense of shame and self control were slowly evaporating.

His eyes closed when tears slipped through his open lids. He realized that it wasn't lust he was feeling.

It was-

Before Uryu gained the chance to finish that thought, his mouth opened to receive Inoue's tongue. _This is going_ _too far_ he thought to himself as a gush of copper tasting liquid flowed into his mouth, filling it from gums to the roof.

Uryu gently but quickly broke off his embrace, finally opening his eyes, gasping at the sight of Orihime's face. Her face was shockingly pale with exception of a embaressed blush, her eyes were streaming with tears. Her lips were held up in disbelief and confusion, blood steadily dribbling down her chin.

The last words of this final vision that signified who his friend was would haunt Uryu until the day he died.

"Ishida-kun… Why? Why couldn't you..." Orihime's eyes rolled into the back of her head as her feet gave way beneath her. Panicked, Uryu grabbed onto her waist as she hung limply and slack.

"No. Inoue-san… I'm sorry I kissed you! Please wake up." All of the things he had learned as the son of a respected doctor were forgotten, as he turned into a child again, scared and trying to understand why his mother and grandfather were taken away from him.

"Please… We came here to save you, you're not going to die on us when we just found you right? Please we care about you, _Tatsuki_ misses you, _Ichigo_ loves you!" Uryu pleaded. trying to kiss her again in a vain attempt awaken her from her slumber, like all the maidens in the tales his grandfather had told him about.

Yet she wasn't going to wake up.

Uryu dropped her, fumbling when he attempted to hold on. She landed on a table, stitched up from bare chest to abdomen, bloodied surgical tools resting on a smaller table next to her beautiful but languished body now ruined by the incisions made by the autopsy.

Uryu screamed.

Suddenly his vision returned and he was rested on a soft sand bank. His mind was clearer then it had been in his and his body felt alive again. He could smell, he could taste, he could hear… He was back in the real world again.

Still… Uryu waved his hand in front of his face, trembling as it got closer. The nightmare had been so intense he didn't notice, Rukia snapping her fingers.

"Ishida-san are you alright?" Rukia exclaimed, getting closer and closer and closer…

The noise that came out of Uryu's throat was some gurgling hybrid of a yelp and gasp. Having awoken from dream with his body tingling, the last thing he desired was unwarranted female contact. He made a sort of reverse crabwalk away from Rukia, only to get kicked in the back.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Uryu landed on his hands and knees, immediately looking in the direction of his attacker. Standing upright with leg cocked back was Renji Abarai back to full operation.

Uryu realized that the leg he had been kicked with was the same leg that bastard had broken with his voodoo dolls. Uryu didn't have time to ponder how he and Renji were healed. Because his friends came into fullview at that point, rendering any further thought temporarily tossed to the side.

Ichigo, Chad, Rukia, and Renji were alright somehow! Uryu stuttered in an attempt to explain this statistical impossibility, racking his brain in an attempt to understand how they all escaped certain death.

Maybe they had died. His grandfather and mother would tell him about heaven and hell, maybe… No. The Soul Society had proven that tale incorrect. Besides they would all be there if they were truly deceased.

The teenager's thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like a kicked hornets nest, only to realize that his friends made a noise much louder then any aggrieved insect swarm could ever produce.

The fight was not a fair one, Renji was clearly outnumbered three to one. He was quite scared as he tried to explained himself.

"I was trying to get him to get a grip. Besides Ichigo does it to you all the time! And you also do it to Ichigo!" Renji screamed trying in vain to defend himself.

"Not when we're injured you ginger oaf! Besides, you really think we do nothing but just beat each other up!"

Renji's eyes went wide as stuttered out his response. "Y-yes?"

Uryu had had enough of this petty conversation. He stood up, using his left arm to steady his posture as he picked up his cross. He was annoyed by the amount of bile and blood on his customized clothes but he ignored that for the moment, promising to make Ryuken pay for better supplies. Forming his Ginrei Kojaku, he fired a single arrow at his friends, shooting between them by using his marksmanship to deliberately miss.

"WILL ALL FOUR OF YOU SHUT UP AND FOCUS ON THE TASK AT HAND!"

Ichigo cursed which was what he was expecting but what he didn't expect was Rukia and Chad ran full force to tackle and trap the Quincy in tight bare hug. Chad was crying and so was Rukia, with the latter making incoherent babbling, some of which consisted of an odd prayer thanking the "Spirit King" whoever that was.

Thankfully Renji and Ichigo didn't join in, somehow having more maturity then either the silent colossus or the raven haired pixie. More likely it was due to their masculine manliness but Uryu was okay with that for once.

Their smiles was all the resurance he needed;

The tough grip was loosened straightaway, saving Uryu from being asphyxiated again. "Hey Chad, Rukia give four eyes some air!" Ichigo barked yanking Rukia off of him but gently nudging Chad gently. Uryu took some time to examine his surroundings. The garish ruins were the same but his friends were covered in bodily fluids, blood being the primary liquid staining their robes and clothes, the acrid sent of forcibly expelled biofluids wafting through the cool crisp air.

Uryu _'s nex_ t thought was of justice and retribution towards the inhuman freak who had caused so much damage to him and his companions. _Where is that bastard Szayel? Or rather where is his body…_ Uryu knew he couldn't be alive, his lack of Reiatsu, their unlikely salvation and their healed wounds being a dead giveaway that he hadn't succeeded in whatever goal he had in torturing and experimenting on them.

What was he trying to gain? Did he lie about Ichigo's reiastu? If he didn't Uryu knew that Ichigo hadn't a clue about it. And where exactly did they come from? Both Pureblood and mixed Quincies had died off years ago, even those with a quarter or even a fifth of the bloodline had either perished or died off seven years ago. Uryu reasoned he wouldn't like the answer. Even if Szayel wasn't talking out of his ass, whatever answers he had were forever sealed away in whatever Hell his soul had been sucked into and for once Uryu was glad he wasn't going to get the answers yet.

"Were are the dumbasses?" Uryu wondered aloud.

Ichigo grasped the nickname immediately. "Pesche and Dondochakka? When we were healed, they kinda panicked for some reason and went west, saying that-"

That led to a more pressing question. "Who saved and healed you guys? I'm afraid being unconscious left me unaware of the miracle." Uryu chuckled to himself earning a bewildered stare from the group. What it you Ichigo?

Ichigo's reaction to this sally wasn't normal. Instead of retorting with a wise ass remark, Ichigo glared at the Quincy, the veins and chords in his neck growing taut and rigid. "No I didn't." Ichigo responded curtly but before he went off seething he responded with a guilty look as if he realized his anger wasn't necessary but was unable to control himself.

Ignore him. Rukia waved him aside hopping off an upthrust of vermillion rubble she and Chad had been sitting on, accidentally kicking up sand particles that caused her to slide unsteadily on her feet. "He's acting like a child but he's been threw Hell. We've all been. Rukia's eyes went far away glancing at Renji crouching behind a partially submerged lime green wall, unsubtly trying to get the sand out of his crack, causing Rukia to giggle.

A flicker of hope shot into Uryu's brain like lightning. "Is Orihime safe? Did she escape? Was she the one who-"

"Uryu." Rukia said not unkindly. "We still don't where she is." Rukia eyes filled with tears. "Pesche and Dondochakka said that they would look for her but we haven't heard back from either of them. I should have asked Nee-sama for a map."

"It was going to be outdated anyway." Renji used his left hand to straighten and steady himself as he stood up with a slumped posture. "We didn't have time for that shit anyhow. If the Head Captain finds out that Byakyua let us go, he'll fire him for dereliction of duty and disobeying orders." Renji gave her a haughty smirk. "And that's if he's lucky. I sincerely doubt the Nobility has that kind of power in wartime."

Rukia made a fist and tried to punch Renji, who dodged deftly. Rukia chased after him. "What's the matter Lady Kuchiki?" He said laughing up a storm. That's not very delicate or lady like."

Their fighting grew indistinct as Uryu silently cursed his stupidity. Why did he think that was even a possibility? If she was here she would have been in plainview, smiling, beaming, chirping at all of them through conversation, talking to them through her own personal language (Uryu decided to call it "Orihimese") that only Tatsuki could understand and not very fluently. His waking dream must have fucked him up more then he'd figured.

"So who healed all of us? Nel?"

Uryu meant that sarcasm as a sally. Everybody immediately went cranberry red. Ichigo, Renji, Chad and even Rukia's faces become rosy and flustered. This was not the response he was expecting. Oddly enough Chad was the first to pipe up. "Dude you want to know don't ask, just forget about it."

Suddenly he got a bad feeling through his spine, causing him to send out his reiatsu in response. Uryu felt the Hollow before he saw it. It's spiritual pressure was massive, the biggest he has ever sensed from one. It had to be Espada level. The woman made an odd figure, it's buxom and shapely figure accented by the green rags barely covering her mostly exposed frame.

The mask of a Ram adorned the top of her head like some sort of helm, with the face underneath being attractive but with a scarred nose, hazel eyes and lines of crimson that seemed to be painted with a brush under her eyes.

To his immense shock she smiled happily, giggling like a little kid. Hi Ishida san-

AAAAGH! The archer roared and his muscles tensed as he gathered up his Reiastu at the new threat. Uryu immediately aimed his bow and fired a dozen arrows, but the Hollow easily evaded the volley.

He was quickly restrained by his nakama. "Uryu quit it, that's Nel!"

Uryu glasses fell from his face as his arms were scrunched, stopping him from keeping the ill fitted spectacles on the bridge of nose. "What do you mean it's Nel? Nel's a child!" Uryu was beyond confused.

"Well now she isn't!" Ichigo konked Uryu on the head, the proceeded to give him a noogie. "She was the one who saved our asses so I suggest you apologize to her!"

Shooting first and asking questions later is something Uryu would have expected Ichigo to do but he was much too confused to comprehend the irony.

But before Uryu could ask her any questions, something distracted the young Quincy. More specifically a change in the Holow's body langauge.

For suddenly Nel's eyes went hard as slate and her mouth stood agape, before closing into a dangerous frown.

We're being watched, Nel finally answered. Everyone tensed up in response with their weapons drawn, ready to be prepared for another fightl

"By who?" Uryu asked, Ginrei Kojaku reforming easily in his hand

"I know exactly who." Nel pulled her blade out out of the sand, an aura of Reiatsu as wide as a barrel surrounding the edges of her frame and shooting up high into sky like a golden tornado. "I just killed him."

.

.

.

Unbeknownst to the shapely harridan slaughtering and making a mess of his toys, a pale shadow watched the carnage, witnessing the massacre through coal black eyes the shape of tiny little buttons and as thin as a pin.

Usually they were not as sharp as a pin but the eyes that had once belong to a pudgy oaf now belong to a beautiful being blossoming inside a chrysalis made primarily out of yellow fatty acids and rich T-Cells, all while enveloped in an embryonic caul and umbilical cord that wrapped around his body like a bundle , spiraling around Verona's brain stem like an snake.

He can hear his remaining Fraccion's final wisps of synapses, feel the basic primal sensation of petrification, his humiliation, their retarded half thoughts as struggled in vain to comprehend the glory and greatness growing fat, hearty, and plump as it leeched the nutrients necessary to grow out of the ambiotic sphere encasing his fragile fetus.

Once he was reborn, he would make sure those tasty subjects wouldn't slide out of his maw again. No more toying with food, he was going to vivisect them and make them a part of his masterpiece.

He planned a particularly sharp lesson for that Banshee Nelliel Tu Odelschwank. He had spared the ungrateful bitch when Nnoitira was ready to use her as a pump for his long disgusting gentailia, She dare make a fool out of someone as brilliant and handsome as him? _Oh Nel, have you any idea what gate to Hell you have released? What pain I shall inflict on you, not only for harming my gorgeous body, not just for depriving me of such tasty test subjects but also for destroying MY CREATIONS!_

She was just on the top of the list. The Shinigami, the Quincy, whatever that human was, he would not allow them to escape the creativity of his mind and the hollow place of his belly.

Oh just thinking about the loss of such delectable subjects made him think of a idiom Aizen said was much popular in the World Of The Living… What was it? Oh right. it was the straw that broke the Camel's back, such a queer expression!

As a result, Szayel just couldn't take much joy in his survival. And the Incubation of his glorious body inside his left overs was not going at the breakneck speed he wished. If he had a less malformed vessel then things would have gone more smoothly.

But no. _He had_ to be left with the scraps.

What's worse the moron would have gotten killed if his brain hadn't taken over in time. It was the exact same time Szayel realized that all of his other Fraccion were butchered so casually by the woman with the abnormally large mammary glands.

Szayal wasn't angry. Oh no, no, no. That word didn't cover the feeling he was receiving. If his blood could boil and his flesh roil through his parchment like skin, then even that wasn't enough to understand his rage! He was sure that that would have happen as well if Nel hadn't suddenly apporated in front of him.

His blood had steamed well past the point of boiling, he would have spontaneously combusted if Nel hadn't shown up so discorteously

Szayel did a backflip then crawled backwards on his knee's horrified. A part of Verona's natural reflexes most have at one point been used as a mating dance or a chance to size up prey. Whether it had been either, there was no chance in Hell Szayel could allow any more reflexes to emerge .

So he immediately took full possession of Verona's mind and body. He had severed it almost too close because the doctor sensed that the pill shaped mistake was about to get it's pudgy body disembowled. Or rather at this moment, he would get disembowled.

"Nel Sama! He piped taking mastery of Verona's vocal chords. Verona wants to know what Nel-sama is doing back, that he does, that he does!"

To Szayel's infinite surprise, Nel smiled warmly. It was definitely because of this ugly sack of garbage that he was alive. He swore that he'd turn Verona into a toilet when he revived him.

But he had a part to play if he wanted to live to pass on his superior genes.

Nel pointed to the bundle of dolls he grasped in his hand. "Mind if I take those? Granz-san said it was okay."

 _No he didn't!_ To say Szayel was reluctant was putting it lightly. If he gave up the dolls he had no way of defending himself. His resserection was going to cost him dearly because it came from such a weak body. And it wasn't female either, meaning that he was using glue to repair a brick house.

Szayel was tempted to smash the dolls then and there. His hand begun to squeeze but he stopped. He realized then he cared more about his own life then acting in a Greek Tragedy.

So he replied, "Yes, Nel-sama it would be my pleasure to aid you. I apologize for the inconvenience." He did a little curtsy.

Nel frowned and Szayel realized that he fucked up. Verona wasn't capable of such higher vocabulary. But the looked passed when Szayel smiled through Verona's cheeks and outstretched the spindly arm holding the dolls. Nel walked towards the possessed lump of fatty tissue, gently took the dolls out of his hand, before clutching them with one arm and turning her back on him.

Goodbye Verona. Then the woman was gone.

Szayel was lucky that Nelliel Tu Odelschwank was a idiot. She was only intelligent by the admittedly dismal standards of their race. But she had long since forgotten where she came from.

The chat wasn't all bad. After all he was now almost to full term.

Verona writhed and shook, sensing the pain that was about to come. He was fighting, having more will power then Szayel thought he did. That was when Szayel lost control of his left side.

Verona tried to speak but it came out as a garbled mess due to to having full function of only half a mouth. He punched at his stomach, something Szayel could feel both in outside and inside.

Szayel was completely astonished that this was happening. Astonishment quickly turned to rage at the impertinance of the act, such ingratitude! There was no way he was going to lose this time. Especially to this vermin.

A bit of his cheek was bitten off by the back molars, filling his soft mouth with a fetid, rank juice that his Fraccion's blood was made of, it made no matter the fight was won.

Verona fell to his knees and cradled his swollen stomach, the suffering only being surpassed by the artificial twisting of nerves to keep him quiet.

His thoughts were mostly untelligable, complete gibberish sprinkled on top nonsense. But one phrase was repeated enough for the eugenicist to understand.

Why… He whispered, such a small thing with a small voice telepathically communicated.

Verona attempted to scream but it was futile. His throat was completely muffled by the being wiggling inside of it. His skin wrinkled, his flesh puckered and withered, his blood was exsanguinated and his brain was sucked clean of his simple consciousness.

Shrunken, elongated like a snake and crumpled up like paper, the doctor emerged of the cretins espohogas curled up in a ball midair.

He landed lightly on his feet, his sculpted figure basking in the sun like a bronze statuette.

The wind had never been the most forceful of lovers but the kisses it sent were pleasant enough, quickly drying the afterbirth off of his nude frame.

But he didn't have time to enjoy the gentle pinpricks. He had to escape and hope for the best.

He walked a couple yards before his brisk pace was interupted by a voice.

"Ahem."

Szayel froze disbelieving. _You got to be fucking kidding._ He slowly racked his head behind him and saw the worse possible thing that could have happened to him at the worst time and the exact wrong place.

Nel had returned.

Nel had spotted him.

Nel had through him.

And she had come back with with friends.

Though obviously enraged, Szayel suspected that not all of those ruddy blushes were from primal rage. Though Nel face remained stoic and unmoved, the brunette woman with the petite attractive body of a slightly pubescent child, stuggled to keep her gaze off of… Certain parts.

Szayel couldn't help but chuckle. "Your first time seeing a man naked? I didn't know shinigami were so sexually naive-"

WHOOSH THUNK

Szayel felt a sharp biting pain in his shoulder, specifically his right. Szayel yelped in pain. His color bone shattered embeding itself into his deltoid and nearly slicing his trapezious in half. As the pain became more intense, the doctor couldn't help bet let loose a shameful scream.

"Tell me Hollow…" The quincy said softly full of resolute rage and resolve. "Can a creature without a heart like yourself feel fear?"

Szayel gawked at the Quincy, horrified, surrounded and about to be torn to pieces by a gang of callow progeny.

He didn't have a chance in hell of beating them in a battle of attrition, and he didn't have the time to think up of some strategem. He had to call upon the other hollows and hope that he could get away before they had a chance to be promoted.

Szayel quietly released his reiatsu, having it spread through the surrounding area like a toxic gas. But instead of evaporating with the reishi, it let out a irresistably pure strain of Hollow pheromones. As long as there were hollows above ground, they be forcibly compelled to come here. Of course the higher Espade would experience only mild arousal and be more annoyed then under his control but all he wanted a thick shield of flesh to make his escape.

All Szayel had to do was let the wind carry the gas and he'd have help in less then ten seconds

Szayel huffed, then laughed wildly, more shrill and manic then haughty and confident. His enemies didn't seem to notice the tone of the chuckling, being more concerned at what the doctor was planning now. He heard the one know as Chad ask in a low grumble what he was planning now.

 _My last resort_ , he thought to himself, hiding his gloom with an act of cocky reverance. "Funny that you should ask moi! Why don't you ask the licentious, debaucherous and lets not forget dissolute mob of inbred brothers and sisters coming to help me." He flung his hands to the side, confident in his victory

Nel seemed to redden from the exposure but other then that nothing happened. Szayel's face fell in baffled confusion as he struggled to make sense of this. What! Those pheromones can go ten killometers in less then twenty seconds any hollow above ground would have, they would have…

Oh no.

Szayel opened his mouth in horror as he realized why their were no hollows. Aizen had begun his invasion and left him here. And he… He had turned off all of the radio's to focus on his ballet, his glorious act of theater, his-

WHOOSH. THUNK

Another arrow struck his flesh, this time his leg. The fissure in the femur made him unsteady, and resulted in him having to land on one knee.

"Uryu stop!"

Nel grasped the dominant hand that held the bow, gently twisting the spiderweb like contraction of Reishi down towards her person. He tried to writhe out but only managed to shoot a arrow down directly into the grains.

Ichigo grabbed Uryu by the cuff of his suit, then with the other hand gripped him tightly. "What the hell do ypu think you're doing?"

Uryu glared back, pushing Ichigo off of him. He gritted his teeth, snarling. "Are you serious Kurosaki? You think that inhuman creature is worthy of mercy after what he did to you?"

"That's not the point!" Ichigo swung a fist at him, but the pint sized Shinigami got in between the bickering pair. Given the frozen veneer of serenity and maturity encapsulated in her face, she seemed to be the most masculine and mature of the group.

She held them aloft from each other, pushing them apart with a countenance of intense irritation made apparent by her furrowed brow and pursed lips.

"Will both of you please calm down! You're acting like children! Have you forgotten why we are here? Do you think the first thing Orihime would like to see after we rescue her is you too fighting!" The voice of the Shinigami cut through the air dngerously like a knife.

 _I think that's my cue to leave_ , Szayel thought as the black bird squawked noisly at the rowdy fruit that seemed much shorter then his true length. He took a few steps backwards but a WHOOSH signified that someone has used a movement technique to box him.

It was too static to be Shunpo. That's Sonido, Szayel though wirh rising horror. He couldn't help but freeze.

The little raven turned her head to Uryu, her disposition calmer. "He's right Uryu." The brunette child replied. "Though I promise he will die, if you stoop to his level then you are no better then him!"

Uryu sighed and mumbled some sort of apology to the group, the most hypocritical display of conscience that he would ever see. Then they moved.

They were only a couple paces from where he knelt but those paces seemed to slow and reverberate queerly within his own perception of time.

Szayel started to huff shakily, his naked knees trembling as panic seeped into his bones. _No! I just got reborn, I'm too perfect to die like this!_ Not now, not to them, not anytime! Szayel's skull was utterly baffled at what was happening, for once being unable to think.

He hand no access to his toys and he wasn't nearly strong enough to kill even the weakest of them. Szayel silently cursed not only his enemies but also the man whose shadow had transformed Hueco Mundo, creating a false sunrise that engulfed the empty hearts and gave knowledge to their primeval and primitive minds but in the end all his race could do but bask in the dark.

Aizen had made him smarter then the rest of his messy experiments but left him to die and wither in the valley of desolation and destruction, a meager and torturous land scorched and abandoned by the Shinigami. It figured that what a thousand Shinigami had done to his race, one Shingami promised to undo, only for those promises to turn to dust their dry mouth's and ash in their empty bloated bellies.

Szayel had always considered himself a shrewd survivor, who had rightfully rose above his-It weren't even fit to compare the rest of his species to him but in the end just another pile of biological ooze to be wiped clean after it had failed to

Wait…

A pale face with orange hair flashed through his brain. Like some sort of camera face sped by revealing a nude voluptuous body. A white grin flashed through the darkness, making him shiver uneasedly, a feeling much like shame and empathy that he hadn't felt in such a long time.

But why?

 _That was beside the point,_ he thought as he realized that he could now loosen the strangling noose around his neck. He had only one chance. He had to get to Orihime Inoue. Even if she wasn't here- No she was here, Szayel could sense her reiatsu. It was quite a pleasant miasma, drifting through the air, thickening snd mixing with the Reishi, Her Reiastu was powerful even from the other side of Aizen's castle.

Szayel put forth his best begging face, mixed with a dash of actual fear for good measure. "Please! Don't kill me! I-I have information regarding Aizen! Isn't that what you want? To defeat him!"

"Silence. You are a monster and nothing can ever pardon what you have done either now or in the past. We will not allow any future transgressions. In the name of the Soul Society-"

"-The honor of the Quincy." The wannabe knight proclaimed, priming his net like bow and aiming directly at his chest.

"-Human decency." The dark skinned man grumbled with a ponderous exchange of rough vocals.

"-We Sentence you to death!" They said simultaneously., ready to unleash their fury onto his noble frame

Szayel had to speak now or he was wormsmeat. "Oh really nothing can pardon me you say? There's nothing that can rescue my life from the end of a blade… Even the wereabouts of one Orihime Inoue?"

The Ryoka froze and their eyes piked up in shock, as they ran towards the scientist, hope in their innocent child like orbs.

 _I got them._

"Where is she!" That was the only word of the mass buzzing he could understand properly. Everything else just appeared to be nothing more then the mass gibberish of irritating imbeciles trying to talk all at once.

"First of all enough with the piping pillow talk. Secondly I shall be happy to take you to her… But only in exchange for my life." Szayel said it as quickly as he could. This was no time to mince words or else _he_ would be minced throughly into a slosh like pate.

"What? You coward tell us where she is!" That remark seem to be called out in unison. Szayel realized then that everyone of these hormone filled jackasses were completely indistinguishable from the other, just cliché archetypes of theatric tropes that they desperately longed to be.

The scientist couldn't help but respond with a gargantuan, gloating grin. "Kill me and you won't find her corpse for decades even if you were to live that long. Let me live and I'll lead you to her." Szayel cocked one of his delicately manicured eyebrows to show how non truculent he was being. Unless you think you can find her on your own?

Szayel took great, grand satisfaction from their panicked faces, so saccharine, their tears of joy more akin to honey then salt.

They all glared at the scientist suspiciously, taking a brief moment to chew on his proposition. They probably wouldn't like the taste but their pleasure was not the

"What if we were to torture you to make you talk." Ichigo said finally.

Giving the aghast expressions on his companions faces and the afterglow of disgust ingrained on the bitter strawberry's face, it was just a rather immature bluff that slid out with a roll of the tongue in the heat of the moment.

 _So idiotic you fool thinking you can bluff a master actor. None of you have what it takes to do what needs to be done in order to win, so don't act surprised when I test how long your naked flesh can survive until it hardens and calcifies once I flay the dermis and epidermis off of you._

That was providing Inoue left him enough to tinker with. Somehow he anticipated a change of alliegence if he didn't lose his head a second time.

"Oh I'm afraid we both know you all have too much humanity to pull that off. Besides…" Szayel bemt down, then twisted the Reishi arrow in his calf before carefully yanking it out. You and your companions are a abject failure at torture. "You just… Don't have…. _The proper skill."_

They all looked at him in complete repulsion, at once horrified and disgusted by his response. He inwardly rolled his eyes. The scientist didn't expect these cretins to even begin to comprehend why he did the things he did. They were acting with morose shock that someone can peck at a fly's wings and pull it apart… When every race was capable of such wanton cruelty and devilish mischief.

He guessed that was why he disliked non hollow's so much. Hollows may have been nothing but the sum of their parts, that philosophy remaining even after they were cloaked in the form of civililty. But at least they were honest with what they were.

They didn't attempt to conceal their true nature's behind the veil of Chivarly, justify encasing someone in a cage or executing them as justice, nor hide and suppress their lust behind picturesque idealism, and when the one of them that alone reveals reveals the arrogance of putting trust in such blind superstition, they want ignore the potential realization and- Well hide their heads in the sand.

The one who's hair took the shape of a pineappple covered in a females menstrual fluid broke the silence. "You weren't so good at taking pain when Uryu shot your ass! I remember you crying like a bitch!" He laughed the mocking cocksure laugh of someone desperately trying to shake the suffocating feeling of discontent off of their once weightless shoulders.

"I wasn't crying. I was enraged that you dared to do anything to my body with _my_ consent. I assure you if you had gone with me to my lab, what I'd have you do seems much more creative then stabbing me with your tanto." Renji scowled but the doctor wouldn't give him the time to exact his uncreative vengence upon his body

"But if we had reached a agreement then…" The scientist stuck out his tongue and wiggled it, blocking the sound of pain as she removed the arrow. "Then I shall take you to your Princessa."

" **No."**

Suddenly a blade was at Szayel's throat, the steel kissing his adam's apple and jugalar. _Fuck I forgot about her!_ There was no way he could possibly persuade her into accepting his offer. Unlike the children before him, she actually had know how deceitful he was.

To both his pleasure and dismay, Ichigo placed himself directly in the front of him, a rather lean handsome shield of chisled herculean flesh. "Nel what the hell!" Ichigo said defensively, shocked that Nel would ruin his chance to grasp those lovely mounds of flesh that both the old and the new Orihime Inoue had a abundance of. Or at least that _his_ interpretation, Szayel didn't particularly understand sentimentallity.

Szayel could also tell that line between Hollow and human were slowly breaking.

"Ichigo." Nel explained patiently. "You don't know him like I do-

"You think I don't know that!" The ripe strawberries mouth was angry but his eyes were pleading and begging for her to allow this, queerly shaken by the idea that they could lose someone emotionally important to him.

When the Quincy came to his defense, Szayel knew how essential this one woman was to their mental well being.

"I don't like it any more then you," Uryu exclaimed, "If I had a choice I'd crucify him and watch him die screaming. But we don't have a choice do we?" The rest joined in and Szayel ceased paying attention.

 _What lovely knights to come to my aid,_ Szayel thought sarcastically. Given how annoying and petty these containers of licentious hormones were, Szayel seriously considered just killing himself there and now, just to allieviate his suffering. But then a Hollow Bug crawled on his foot, snapping him out of his fancy,

He upturned his foot sideways but it stayed on, forcing him to smash it with the bottom of his other foot. Eugh. Now he had bug leavings all over his dainty and delicate feet. And they were still aruging.

"We do have a choice!" Nel snapped as their accusing eyes fell upon her. Szayel couldn't believe fate had given another golden opportunity

For the first time, Nelliel Tu Odelschwank looked uncomfortable. At least, in a way that she let visualize on her bone structure, with the slump in her posture and panic in her face. And it wasn't because of what he did or whether or not he was leading her into a trap. These new compatriots of hers must be weighing her down. The shaggy haired doe always looked for someone to loyally follow, so anxious to please, too eager to prove that she wasn't like her inhuman brothers and sisters.

And now that she met actual humans… Well it didn't take a review of basic psychology to know how much of her insecurity was being inflamed. And it also wouldn't take much to twist her weak point until she conceded for mercy.

"Do it then." Szayel said confidently.

Szayel took great pleasure in the countenance of surprise of the Amazonian warrior's stern but childlike face. While it was certainly accurate and fairly verifiable that he was a colorful fabulist, there was no way the scientist was going to die the first time he told to truth.

"Kill me and you'll never find the girl. Such a sweet young maiden as well… Tell me Nel can you possibly live knowing that you left a girl who was innocent in more ways then one to die? Do you think she can fine the food and water caches on her own? Or escape the hunger and lust of our mutual brothers and sisters?"

"You may have been here since almost the beginning and know the landscape almost as much as I do but can you travel the wide breadth of Las Noches, observe every rock and stone tree in a short enough time not only to save the princess but also fight all the mauraders and vagobond . What about the two espada above you? Or his Shingami pets. Or even the king who you once promised your life and body to ,but now have irrecably forsaken?"

For once his nemesis was at a lost. It was genuinely amusing to see the cogs try and turn in a different direction in a foiled attempt to revive the broken and rusted machinery that could potentially see a way out of this. Nel knew that he was holding something back… And she couldn't do a thing about it. It appeared that spurning of Aizen's goodwill didn't give her exactly what she wanted.

Now she was in a democracy and the majority, even if it consisted of a shallow uninformed rabble, rules.

Nel's head bent down to her ample chest, sighing as she finally admitted defeat.

Exaulting, Szayel chuckled. _Oh my beautiful Amazon._ _I may have set the trap but it was you who willingly stepped into it._ Szayel was in such a good mood he didn't hear the little girl cast her spell.

Szayel blinked at what sounded like a bullwhip being cracked, before said whip coiled around him, constricting like some sort of golden serpent and wrapping around his body like the many strands of rope he had made his Fraccion pleasure him with.

Szayel eye's widened, his intelligence offended yet again. He tried to move but the tiny raven quickly wrapped the loose strand of reishi rope around her arm then pulled it towards her with her free hand. Szayel tried to escape but that just made the bindings dig deeper into his flesh, the tissue useless as he was tugged towards the Shinigami against his will.

It was the short woman's turn to gloat. Her mouth open a smile that would have unnerved the eugenicist if he hadn't seen many a time in his reflection. "You think that we just let you roam free after what you did to us and Ichigo? We'll give you your life… But that doesn't mean we're going to trust you. And we both know what Nel is going to do if you refuse."

Szayel clenched his teeth. She was bluffing but there was nothing he could do about it. Nel herself was smiling wanly, obviously amused by this arrangement that joy at his humluation was unquestionably the only thing keeping Nel from cutting his throat into a ruby smile.

Of course this was going to happen, why didn't think about. He must have been enjoying himself too much to set out a list of demands. His damn showboating had gotten him bound to these chains, by all rights he should be out thinking these wastes of perfectly good neurons.

Yet again they had outmaneuvered him.

They were talking amongst, actually smiling as hope was blooming like mushrooms. They played a bit of rock paper scissors, Szayel didn't know why until the most irritating and tormenting of the bunch grabbed his leash.

"Lead the way!" The asinine redhead chirped, swaggering as if he had the upper hand.

Nel suddenly got closer then he would have liked, then leaned in to whisper in his ear, her voice low and quiet like a lover. "If you are lying and you hurt any of my friends I swear to god I will make certain that this time you die screaming."

That knocked Szayel out of his black delerium, causing a chuckle to emerge unbidden out of his throat. So much for the pacifism that she worshipped… Though he reckoned that once she had abadoned her liege, blessing humanity appeared to be a much more loving if somewhat futile idol to worship.

He figured that he could suffer the brutes as long as he got a front seat to the catastrophe that awaited them.

.

.

.

Something was wrong.

Nel's gut intuition and cognitive reasong were in sync. Her suspicion of Szayel's intentions were certainly not unfounded but the bastard had manipulated the lot of them to follow him to some foul tap he had created.

He wasn't the only one who was gifted with machiveilian intelligence. The Ninth Espada also had an adept silver tongue and "hyper intelligence" to outwit his compatriots to survive.

The way most of her fellow brood's idea of promoting themselves were brute force. And why wouldn't that work? Anyone who wasn't strong enough to survive was weak and needed to be culled, in order for the race to continue on. That was the philosophy of the Hollow., ingrained in them even after they became civilized.

That safe barbarous mindset seemed to work. How else would they rationalize following the enemy of their race but in response to strength?

The only way to promote to the top was assassinating the numbers above you. There were suicide attacks, duels, ambushes and rivalry's transcribed into the history of Aizen's army then even she could remember.

She hated herself for admitting this but this actually served a quite ingenious purpose. If a hollow were to be killed by the next generation of Arrancar, then it was clear that this batch were the ones with the superior abilities. And if that Arrancar failed then it was just a case of a failed experiment.

This also served a practical purpose of preventing dissent in the ranks. If any Arrancar proved mettlesome or too rebellious for Aizen's liking then he was would simply hint to his other loyal Arrancar that he favored them better then that loose end. It was a way of getting rid of the competition without losing the veneer of politeness.

That was what really made Nel disillusioned with Aizen's ideals. He had given the impression of a messiah, a prophet, a savior that would end the countless nights of bloodshed. He had reincarnated them, gave them the shape of men and women, had single handedlly given back their humanity.

Nel really believed that he would rescue them from this barren land of ash and waste. That not only would he give them homes that were neither ruin or tunnel but also teach them to build homes. It was too good to be true that they would replace black birds that chased them away from the light.

The man had persisted in the lie that all he wanted was to make the world the way it should be, and not the way it was.

The moment she had realization was when she first returned to her true form. And oddly, despite having been so devoted him, Nel didn't want to cry. He was just disappointed.

But a battle of might was quickly overtaken by a battle of wits and both Aaronierro and Szayelapporo knew that. Instead of trying to fight a battle they couldn't possibly win, they instead continued on with the pursuit of knowledge and expounding of logic Aizen had imbued them with. Only a few, including Nel herself had taken the initiative to do so.

But instead of nourishing their humanity, they sought the destruction of it. They played mindgames, they used their newfound cunning to aid in their goals, often helping those less intelligent then him with their promotions to the upper ranks, only to be disposed of when they outgrew their role in Szayel's chestboard.

Not one of them saw him coming. She and many others had been too blinded by hubris and pride to see the worms ingraiating themselves in the shadows.

That was exactly why Nel would ever trust him. She was always given the feeling that everyone around him was just another pawn, even Aizen. She had told him so once but he brushed it off.

She focused her attention on the strange, orange haired boy and brave companions. That brought a smile to her face.

The truth was, Nel had come to the conclusion that the continuing shared racism between the two were utterly pointless. Shedding more blood was not going to make the chasm any less wide and instead would entrench their races in a perpetual stalemate, unable to reach a compromise.

Aizen for better or… No there was no worse. Whether he had intended so, Aizen had given them a once in a lifetime chance to mend the eons old wound, not with salt but with salve.

How easily Rukia, Renji, and Ichigo had reached a report with her despite their obvious predijuces were more then enough empirical proof.

It could happen and she would fight to the death to make it so.

It was a added bonus that despite traveling leagues of arid desert, the only thing that came out of the eighth Espada's mouth was a complaint that his calves were getting sore.

Nel hoped this meant that he got the message that any provocation even accidental could result in his immediate demise…

… Or maybe he was counting the lack of Hollows in the area. Which there was none. That probably meant they were being led into a trap.

Trap or not, one godsend she would thank Szayel for was that his vow of silence meant that there was no one to interrupt Nel's getting to know her new companions.

Without Szayel's venom soaked tongue, there was nothing to fill the empty air but mostly cheerful chatter amongst themselves, liked they had know each other their entire lives.

At first, Nel only had eyes for Ichigo, trusting and loving him above the others, but before long she got a bead on them.

Rukia for instance, to her immense surprise did infact dwell in the Seireitei like all Shinigami. But both she and Renji originating in the Rukongai, specifically Inuzuri. Nel had heard about the poor conditions of the Soul Society's ghetto's but was in disbelief that anyone could suffer as bad as in Hueco Mundo.

To her immense surprise, Rukia had laughed in agreement.

Nel slowed her pace and glanced at the ground, staring listlessly at her bare feet. She hadn't meant it as a joke. Though she didn't exactly see it, regret covered Rukia's face like a veil.

Rukia then tugged at her shorn sleeve to get her attention. "Nelliel-san. I apologize for any offense. You've been through a lot and I had no right to insult your home."

Despite herself, Nel giggled at that.

It was so absurd! Even those who were ranked below her were incapable of making a apology unless it was back handed in some way. The Arrancar followed by fear instead of respect, just waiting for a chance to move up to the top.

It was just so silly, so ironic, that something as simple as a apology seemed so foreign to her, especially coming from someone who supposed to be her most bitter enemy, it just resulted in a sun filled smile.

"Don't worry Rukia-san I understand! Any place where there's sunlight is superior to this boring old place… But may I ask you a favor."

Rukia smiled curiously. "Shoot."

Nel didn't know where to begin. "Well you see… We were only allowed to grow esstential for basic nutrition. Things like carrots, cabbages, rice, wheat… We were never able to grow things like trees and flowers."

Nel had spent so much time at Aizen's side that she never got a chance to exit Hueco Mundo. Sure Aizen had given her miniture trees called "bonsai" along with a plethora of flower buds.

But the sun in Las Noches wasn't really up to the task and Nel still wanted more.

Rukia closed her eyes and chuckled. "Well there are plenty of plants in my brothers garden! I'd be happy to invite you to our estate and we can take a stroll, just uou and me! Rukia's eyes suddenly tilted to the side, and appeared to gaze rather far away, like she staring at something that was both beside her and beneath her.

Usually, Nel's adroit knowledge of reading peoples faces would have kicked in but a certain word had stoked her imagination.

That word was "estates."

Nel gasped. "Are you a lady of nobility?" Nel had to make sure.

Rukia rested the back of her neck on her hand, looking rather embarassed. "Well… Techniquely yes but-

Nel gave a squeal of delight. In a display of obvious maturity, Nel excitedly clutched Rukia's to her watermelon sized rack, earning odd blushes from the males.

Particularly Renji, who not only had blood dribbling down from his nose but also had a dopey smile on his face.

Sadly for him, he wouldn't enjoy this moment for long as Rukia had wrenched free from her embrace in enough time to see the look of lust of his face.

"Oh no, Renji's hurt!" Nel was worried but Rukia stopped her from going to Renji with a raised hand.

"Don't worry he's fine. Just… Wait here please." Rukia told her with a dangerous edge to her voice that made the hair on her neck stand.

Renji didn't see what was coming. He didn't see her stomping towards him nor take in the context clues that meant Rukia was mad for some reason.

By the time the anger registered it was too late to dodge or run away. All Renji could do was meekly raised his hands up to protect his face from Rukia's bicycle kick.

Szayel wasn't pleased either, as he was attached to the male Shinigami. So when Renji was kicked into a dune, so was Szayel.

A quick burst of Sonido was all it took to catch up to the pair. Nel was more concerned that the pink haired rat could potentially escape. So as he was getting up, Nel latched onto the rope, making sure he didn't get any ideas about escaping.

Meanwhile…

"Damn it Rukia I said I was sorry!"

"Sorry? Does the idea of me suffucating turn you on?" Renji blushed and looked away, earning a howl from Rukia. This caused Rukia's face to get even redder.

"Baka!" Then Renji was put into a headlock.

Nel was confused. He could tell that they liked each other, even Rukia was noogiing him while she in turn was getting her hair pulled. Why were they denying it through aggression?

 _Shinigami and humans are weird._

After everything calmed down, Rukia seemed back to normal, even though she still sent Renji a couple dirty looks every now and again.

"So yeah, after the war is over I will personally escort you to the garden, Sereitei Communication named the most zen and astetically pleasing for three years in a row!" Rukia beamed, while Renji rolled his eyes and cocked a finger gun to his head.

 _After the war…_ That discomforted her more then she cared to admit. Nelliel Tu Odelscwank had spent her life knowing that unless she got lucky she was probably going to die. She always tried to forget but sometimes it came upon her suddenly.

When she was reading, when she was training, when she was alone, when she was with her with her fraccion, she could never escape the purpose Aizen had set out for.

Nel querried that this was probably one of the reasons she was loyal to Aizen for so long. Nel thought she was legitimately happy.

It seemed so bizarre that something she had been preparing her whole life for was really not her choice to befin with.

Rukia must have noticed her laggardly whispered a few words to Uryu, then pulled him by the collar, with him looking quite uncomfortable.

Nel understood that. Though it wasn't of remembered, there was a time where Quincies were hated more then Shinigami.

"Uryu would like to tell you something."

Uryu chimed in. "I'd be happy to make you a dress for the occasion."

Nel beamed happily, a giddy exclamation of joy coming out of her throat, singing. "You're a seamistress?"

Uryu nodded. "Well.. I guess so. I'm the top sewer at the Handicrafts Club."

Nel was a bit baffled at the queer customs of the World Of The Living. Aizen had collected literature an absolute treasure trove of both digital and paper works of art, not only from his home but also from the World Of The Living.

They had come in two genres, some from the "West" and some from the "East.". Nel enjoyed the western works and the most and her ideas of both Heaven and Earth came from thus materials.

Uryu chuckled, snapping Nel out of her reverie, closing his eyes and rubbing his chin. "Yeah I actually make most of my own clothes."

"Did you make your Quincy uniform?" Uryu nodded again.

Chad who been almost completely silent up to this point, finally piped up. "I wouldn't recommend them. His style is kind of odd. Chad sounded stoic and rather disinterested in the whole affair." Nel couldn't seem to get a read on him like the others, other then he was close to Ichigo and Inoue, he was shy and often let others do the talking for him.

Uryu seemed to know that the brown giant was teasing but still the archer took some offense at the remark.

"I personally think it's kinda cool." Nel proclaimed.

He had a rather strange response to a simple compliment. Uryu fidgeted nervously with his lenses, a queer red tint shining through the skin on his face as his breath fogged up the glasses

"I-I-I-Its no problem. I have to repay you somehow." He laughed nervously and twiddled

But no mater how cheerful they pretended to be a shadow still hung over the group, a dark cloud with light shining out of it.

Orihime Inoue was that bright shadow, a permeating silence that hung somehow both acrid and pudget, yet flowery and sweet.

Nel shook her head. That wasn't fair, it was a cruel thought. Nel didn't know the girl; only knowing that her name meant Pricessa, her namesake had been ingrained in Soul Society mythology and based on her friends reminiscence.

They seemed overjoyed to jump at the chance to talk about the young woman. Some of them even showed them still images and video they had taken of the girl.

If her hunch was correct, then this girl was sweeter and kinder then anyone in Huedo Mundo, a perfect product of her world.

Nelliel was actually getting more and more excited to meet Orihime at the moment. She sincerely doubted that Ichigo and the company he kept were telling fibs or exaggerating her niceties. Somehow in this motely crew of odd characters, she seemed to be the oddest. Not because of her gross recipes or her wild imagination, but because she seemed to be an oddly neutral anomaly when compared with the martialness of the fighters

Then the conversation turned a bit sour.

Renji asked a question that seemed reasonable but he didn't look comfortable to outright say it, pausing everytime he attempted to begin. Are we sure that she was forced to come here?

Everyone paused. That body language was how Nel knew the question had been at the back of their minds.

Rukia appeared the more incensed looking like she was about to break his leg all over again. Not rage out of jealously or but legitimate rage.

"Renji-" Rukia's voice tried to warn

"No, hear me out Rukia! You said Inoue-san felt like the burden of the group. What if Aizen promised to give her powers?"

Silence felled. Even Rukia seemed at a lost for words.

"That doesn't matter!" Ichigo exclaimed. "I don't care why she came, I'm not going to leave her to die!"

Uryu agreed. "Even if that was correct Abarai-san..." He paused, considering his next words carefully. "We won't let anyone hurt her. Not Aizen, not your Captain-Commander. If they have problems with that arrangement, then they have to go through us."

The warrior pretended to agree along but inside she was troubled more then she wanted to show. Nel had made the connection herself, it really wasn't hard to make she really could take the reigns of a airhead that had a hole poked through.

Even hearing about her second hand, Nel know that the simularities between the two women were absolutely fetching, almost akin to being two halves of the same coin.

Though they were both pacifists, there was one big difference between the two of them and that consisted of the environment they both had been born in. Nel was taught to put fighting, learning about fighting, and teaching herself the different philosophies of war…

Orihime Inoue didn't really have the chance to be ruined by militarism. She had born in a world of relative peace, and that was the seed of her heart. Or at least, according to the people who knew her the most.

Everything from her alleged temperment to her healing abillity was quite contrary to the landscape she'd been painted in.

Nel knew the truth. She didn't belong here. She was just a hastily and shoddily sculpted doppleganger of the true final link in the chain that bound this quarrelsome band of rowdy travellers together. Soon the melancholy grew great, enclosing over the like a enormous cape once again causing the group to grow silent.

But still… She knew she owed it to the girl to save her. It might have been something as altruistic as the connection that spun a thread between them or something as selfish as a need to pay Ichigo back for all the kindness she had received unbidden. Either way a gentle spirit like that deserved to be protected and stoked instead of imprisoned snuffed out.

Nel also felt she needed to stop this pointless bloodshed between their races. Aizen's vanity would do nothing to close the wounds. If he lost, then her race was doomed to die out amongst the ruins of her home for all eternity, no change or hope for the sorrow to ever be resolved.

And if Aizen won… Then innocent beings who had done nothing to get involved with the blood feud were going to suffer after the genocide of the Shinigami

Then they got to the subject of how she had healed the group. Nel didn't quite understand what the problem was. Sure it was gross but it was necessary for them to survive

That wasn't the problem though. The problem was that they seemed not to be sickened but rather bashful. Nel didn't quite understand. Sure she had read plenty of tales about love, but they had the countenance of Arrancar how had just mated with each other.

It wasn't just the spit thing. Sometimes when she hugged Ichigo or part of her body got too close to the other party members, they often really embaressed.

Was it because she was hollow and they had been enemies before they met?

When Nel explained what she had done, Uryu's face turned from green to scarlet, blood dribbling from his nose. "Y… _You kissed us?"_

Nel's head cocked to her left side, confused. "What's a kiss?"

"Please excuse my former superior," Szayel drawled with his cocky grin returning to the forefront. "She sadly has a minute if any knowledge of the sensual side of sexuality. You'd do better explaining it to a amoeba then the Tres Espada."

"Oi! Shut it!"

But as the trek continued on, a slow but ever present dread began to take over the walkabout. Despite Nel's best efforts they quickly ran out of material to converse about and Nel quickly ran out of questions to ask that weren't incessant repeats. Though they were far from fatigued, the telltale signs of exaustion marching upon them. Their throats were parched and dry as well.

"Where is everybody?" Ichigo and Renji asked simutaneously, . Ichigo kicked Szayel's knees out from under him, dropping him on the ground. "Hey, shitface we were asking you a question!

Szayel had to use his elbows to kneel back up to a groveling position. His rage at the humiliation was evident by a simple glance at his face. His eyes were popping out of his sockets in outrage, veins throbbed and pulsated in his forehead, and his cuspids were ground together so tightly Nel was sure they would shatter.

Then Szayel sighed and giggled a forboding clanking of teeth and gums. Where do you think they are? I suspect that a member of the Gotei 13 can guess exactly where they have left

 _So the invasion had begun?_ Nel had suspected as much but hadn't taken the time to really think about. This also brought up a few unpleasant thoughts she had tried to keep to herself. Though she owed the party a great debt, in the end defeating Aizen was more important then rescuing their friend. She didn't want to think that way, especially after learning about the poor girl but in the end-

"YOU BASTARD!" Ichigo's yell of rage interupted Nel's train of thought. It took her a few seconds to register

"Ichigo, calm down!" Rukia said grabbing him by the ear.

"But my hometown is under attack! My friends, _my sister_ s, _my dad_ are all in danger. How the fuck can you tell me to calm down when all those innocent people are caught in the crossfire."

Rukia sighed. "So you think we haven't thought about all that? You honestly believe that while we were all at your place we were just twiddling our thumbs waiting for Aizen to attack innocent people?"

She turned to Szayelapporo. "As for _you_ , don't expect your army to win. Though we spared you, know this hollow. If you ever take up arms against the Soul Society again don't expect us to be so merciful next time."

His lips skinned back into a grin. "Hmm, I wouldn't be so rough. After all you don't know if she's all right."

Rukia's stoic expression collasped in on itself. "Son of a bitch!" Renji bellowed kicking him in the gut. But before the sandled foot made full contact with his diaprham, Szayel dodged deftly, hoping a foot behind.

But as soon as he dug his heel to keep his balance, Ichigo, Rukia, Uryu, and Chad a hold of him, wringing him around the neck and pounding on his face. When he tried to move Renji pulled the energy rope tightly, causing him to remain imobile as his skin was strained by the tauntness of the thread.

Ichigo's eyes bulged out of his head in shock before cocking a fist back and pulling him by the hair. "You bastard! You said Inoue was alright! Were you fucking lying about everything!"

"Of course not, I wish to continue to expand my knowledge for years to come so I wouldn't wish to chance your brute fury!" Szayel's voice was pitched with outrage and frustration at the situation he had trapped himself in.

 _I knew he was going to do this_ , Nel thought to herself sullenly. The doctor had a sick habit of not only salting open wounds but also making them bigger, whether he was vivisecting something with a scapel or a tongue honed to a razor sharp point. It made Nel want to at shorten it so he could finally shut the fuck up. But she had long since left that part of her behind.

It during these few periods of stress that she wished to forgo that ephinany.

Szayel flinched before another punch that was stopped before it reached his irritating face. Usually But then he rose his neck to be face to face with the orange haired Shinigami. "I said she was alive, you rube but your definition of _alright_ is much different then mine. Now cease in your vulgar display of testerone before I make you envy what happened to that madonna."

"What happened to her?" Rukia was calm and composed but her eyes revealing her murderous intent. "You owe us much and more but will tell us what happened!" He scoffed and turned his to the side.

"I owe you nothing and I'll say nothing more. But may I entertain my pale lady and her virgin maidens with a tale."

"We don't have time for stories get straight to the point." Uryu face was as implacable and stern as a marble bust but his eyes were frightened at what he might hear. Hell, Nel was frightened at what had been potentially happened to her, with fears that it couldn't be pretty.

"Don't worry, it's an allegorical one but I'm sure your brain is more then nimble to explain the basics to your insipid slackjawed compatriots."

"Ignore him, we need to get moving." She sent the doctor a warning glare that would have chilled any normal persons blood. But she didn't think Szayel had blood anymore.

Undaunted the scientist continued. "You see Aizen-sama doesn't like leaving any loose threads in his vast web in case they end making the whole of the silk collapse. Though he is certainly an engorged hulk of a spider, he is not blinded by neither my species or your races vanity."

Rukia and Renji glared at the wannabe scientist, insulted that they would compare their orders honor to his races sadistic brutality. _Do they still think Hollows are nothing but monsters?_ That thought made Nel sad but

when they glanced upon her their expressions softened. Still they listened.

"Orihime Inoue. Now isn't she such a queer abberation in the great chain of fate? So much of the human race is used as livestock by-"

"We're not food!" Ichigo yelled.

Szayelapporo Granz had the audacity to roll his eyes. "Be quiet. You interupting this bards tragic tale is immature and is the sign of a low intellect. And really you say you believe that hollows are the _only_ beings that use humanity as substinance?" The eyes of the Shinigami drew colder but you couldn't chill someone whose heart was below absolute zero

"Aizen noticed that her power was something that could turn the tide of the war. Her powers were much more then simple healing. The truth was, whatever cosmic entity that chose which power those lucky few humans got most have been either drunk or had lost a bet. For somehow, a human girl had received the powers of a god."

"What?" Rukia said startledat this information

Szayel narrowed his eyes in frustration. "The next time someone interrupts, I'm just going to kill myself and leave you lot to find Inoue for yourself. Anyway, Aizen decided that her abilities were much more useful to be used for his personal purposes before the old man and his sheep truly comprehended the quarry they had caught."

Rukia appeared as if she was about to say something but she shook her head and pursed her lips in a hopefully zealous vow of silence.

"We of course needed to accurately grasp the limits of her ability. Now I'm sure that everyone of the group that's present automatically assumed that Inoue's power was nothing more then some above average healing witchcraft. Hell, I made the same assumption because Aizen didn't tell me beforehand."

Renji chuckled. "So even monsters like you are just as much victims of bureaucracy as Shinigami. That's a laugh."

Szayel rolled his eyes again but other then that his facial features didn't change much. _He's having fun doing this._

Rukia edged closer, her pinky on her hilt, obviously not liking the predicument as much as she did. She guessed similar minds thought alike. "Go on."

"Oh, my dear… Are you sure your poor fragile heart could take it? Mayhaps I should end the tale before it begins so you could ask her yourself. Then again… After what Aizen made her do I doubt she would be as talkative as before."

A shared intake of breath was all the nasty creature needed to smirk his slimy grin.

If Szayel wanted to live he sure as hell seemed much too subconsciously suicidal to do a good attempt at it. There had to be some sort of endgame to this, maybe he was purposely leading on for… What exactly?

Or maybe he was lying, just breathing poison for the sake of hate and petty reprisal.

Nel didn't like how this was going and was even more concerned by what they could find out. She was already uneased by Szayelapporo's boasting chat, which meant that he, at least in the context of ego, thought he was on top again. The bastard loved the sound of the silky venom he spat out with every intake of air, especially when he thought he was going to win.

Nel hardened her heart, hoping her new companions would do likelise.

She forced herself to look at the group in front of her. They all shared a look whose meaning implied that they were utterly incensed, a malicious glint in their eyes. But there was fear in there as well, particularly among the humans who knew the teenager the most.

"Very well. You've had your warning. Like I previously stated Aizen needed to know the extent of her abilities. So Aizen begun by having her heal Grimmjow Jeaguerjaque's arm. "

Rukia, grasped it quickly. "So Orihime healed his arm…"

"...Yes, my little raven… But not only was the arm healed… It was recreated at peak physical condition. The arm had been chopped off if you excuse my brusque wording, then destroyed. The scorched, blacken talon couldn't be sewed back on and the flesh had healed and crooked back into a stump so any of the medicine I had been developing was useless. In short, the limb which had ceased to be was remade into existence."

Uryu took the lead, looking curious. "So are you claiming that Inoue-san's powers were able to warp time and space? I knew something was off."

Rukia glanced back. "What do you mean?"

"When she healed the gatekeepers arm, I could see that that the tendons, the tissue, the bones, they stretched and regrew into a new arm. But also when Orihime's barrier enclosed over Jidonbo's arm, I noticed that grass was starting to grow on the barren ground."

Ichigo was shocked. "What? Why the fuck didn't you tell us?"

"Because I figured at that point her power was more biological. Besides Kurosaki, how was anyone supposed to guess that she had that ability?"

Szayel shrugged. "That's accurate, yes. Even my observations figured as much until I took a closer look. Had Aizen given me the opportunity I would have loved nothing more then to tenderly examine the stupid bit-

"Stop!" Chad rumbled. "Don't you dare speak ill of her. Orihime didn't want to get involved in all of this! All she wanted was to help people."

Szayel chuckled. "Small good her kindness did her when she was forced to test her powers. If her powers were truly god like then she should have killed us all, instead of cowering and pissing herself like a mouse."

If looks could kill, Szayel would have been dead thrice over. However, the anger was beginning to turn into abject fear, the dark looks seemingly forcing themselves to look at the monster. They got uncomfortably close to the doctor, ready to cut him to pieces.

"Damnit! What. Did. You. Bastards. Do." Ichigo was barely controlling his temper, his fists clenched and his teeth gritted together.

"Enough games. Where's Inoue?" His and everyone else's Reiatsu was steadily rising, eyes lachrymose and puffy.

"Oh no don't worry my friends. She escaped… But the night before, Nnoitira Gilga also escaped. Into her bed."

Nel's breath was inhaled, hurting her teeth as the shock of the implication was quickly taken in, in a sudden gasp of air. Nel knew Nnoitira too well not to grasp what his interest in the subjucation and domination of women for his own sick pleasure.

"SHUT IT, they don't have to hear that part!" Nel panicked, her warning sounding more like a shrill plea then a confident thinly veiled threat. Nel didn't want any of them to know what had happened. She knew firsthand about Nnoitira's lusts for carnal dominance.

Many a time some Fraccion lower then him decided to mouth off to him, hurting his ego. What he did to them afterwords, well Nel had been in denial that he would do something so monstrous and pointless…

Now she wasn't. Panic seeped into her core, quickly realizing that she had to shut him up, before any emotional damage could be done to the group. The tragic part was that none of the teens seemed to accurately grasp the implication. She doubted any of them had had a lover before, being young and unbloodied.

Rukia was the first to take the hint, a look of pure horror on her porcelain face.

"What a sad plot twist… Princess Inoue the maiden is no longer as pure as she once was."

The look of horror on everyone face made Szayel grin even wider. Nel had to restrain herself when she habitually pulled her sword out, just barely ceasing the automatic death the scientist deserved.

Ichigo glared, more incensed then she had even seen him, his face truly the color of some sort of crimson berry. "I'm gonna fucking kill you!" He could barely spit out the words, his jaw clenched and compacted.

Szayel cackled, a clattering of bone and plump pink mouth tissue as he crazily ranted on, adamantine and unrepentant. You can't kill me, you wouldn't kill me. Besides I'm only japing. Her virtue was the only thing unvilolated.

Rukia punched Szayel in the face, breaking a few of his teeth in half. His head jerked back and forth, making a cracking sound much like a bull whip. "I don't care what we promised. All of you will die for you did to her! The rest joined her, pummeling the dandy, all giving in to their emotions in a moment of raw despair and wrath.

Nel quickly dragged all of them off of the scheming bastard, gently tossing them away so that they could land of the soft ground.

Everyone of them bowed their heads in utter shame, crying amongst themselves. Nel had to use her strength to keep the men off. Szayel meanwhile was busy coughing up blood, looking quite unamused. He reached as far manacles would allow him, pressing upon his nose, with the side he touched the correponding nostril gushed out red blood.

"Let us kill him! He must die! They all must suffer…" As Ichigo pulled against her torn top, forgetting all sense of human skittishness around the female body. His grip loosened, and his body once tense and taunt no slackened and limp.

"Inoue..." Ichigo went to his knees crying, instantly followed by his two friends. It was here that Nel realized that Renji probably didn't know or share a close enough bond to the girl. The rest had gone from anger to sadness rather quickly upon learning of the tragedy but he was still stricken with anger instead of grief, looking more shocked and appalled then upset.

Yet still, he came.

Nel unsheathed her blade, ready to butcher this vermin for causing such undeserved trauma to her friends, None of them had appeared to truly experience suffering before the bastard had open his mouth. Even the way he tormented them before was worst compared to this,

It was one thing to break someones bones but to break a person's spirit… That was one thing that remained of her Hollow nature. That sense of wronging at having your freedom and individuality taken from you was surging along side a ocean of endorphins, adrenaline and

At this point Inoue was all but certain to be dead. He would pay for that. _Aizen_ would pay for that.

But oddly Szayel showed no fear as befitting a parasite. Instead he scooted to the left and pointed his tied in that direction, Don't worry my so impatient captors, your princess is very much near. Szayel revealed a bloody semblance of a smile or rather a toothy flicker of lips that reminded the buxom warrior of Nnotira but without the hint of objectification hidden within the gums.

Everyone paused, as Szayel gestured to the horizon. It was miles upon miles of dunes, the perpetual infinity of the desert stretching forth. A dust storm was brewing to the northwest, there was nada on the other side-

No, there was something. Or rather someone.

A petite figure was shadowed in the center, blurred like some sort of mirage, But as soon enough she could make out colors. Orange being one of them.

Nel stared back gobsmacked. _She's alive?_

Rukia mumbled something silently to herself, her face changing from despair, to shock, to confused joy. She smiled, then cried some more with Nel having the impression that they were a different flavor then before.

"What an quaint and amusing ending! I have such questions to ask her-"

Rukia clenched her fists, then snarling, the petite lady stomped towards the doctor. "Hado #10". Rukia poked all the pressure points in the neck, causing cerulean light to emerge from behind his lips, "MUSEI!"

Szayel's lips suddenly closed. They tried to move but when the lips twitched they refused to part, like someone had glued them together.

"That, Szayelapporo Granz, was a spell used to silence obstinate prisoners and those traitors who would dare speak ill of the Soul Society's justice. I will not let your tongue draw any more wounds from her! No more..."

Rukia struggled not to cry. The Shinigami had seemed so professional and erudite when they first met, never losing focus of their objective, a microcosm of elegance. It was a common supersition among hollows that Shinigami were icy hypocrites, unfeeling to their marrow.

But they were human. They were all human. Arranncar, Shinigami, Quincy… Any difference was just tribalistic nonsense.

Nel rested her left hand on Rukia's right shoulder. She flinched at first but then slammed into so hard, Nel at first reckoned that she was punching her instead of hugging her.

Thank you. She whispered. Thank you for everything

Nel smiled, beaming. Arigato Rukia. I wouldn't hold me forever if I were you. Ichigo and everyone else has a head start.

Inoue! Inoue! Inoue! The pilgrims chanted forgetting all techniques that would got them there quicker.

Orihime looked like a delicate figure. She was shaking uncontrollably, her body covered by a hooded brown cloak. Despite what she had seen and done, Inoue was smiling.

And crying.

Tears streamed down her rosy cheeks and snot pelted down from her nose, both mingling and dribbling with each other as she lightly bobbed her head.

She swayed from side to side, tumbling until the short girl-Her youth was everpresent on the visible part of her face- fell on one knee.

INOUE! They all yelled, mobbing around her weak frame. Cirrus clouds were blocking the canopy, hinting at the artificial rain that was about to come. Sand was spun off the dunes due to the frigid incoming winds, causing streams of dust to paint her back.

As they all piled upon her, they all reacted differently. Chad waved his ham sized hands in front of her face, then snapped his fingers when that didn't get the response he wanted.

Uryu pulled out what appeared to be a medkit, gingerly checking Inoue for blood. The young knight appeared rather reluctant to get close to her. That made sense, his father was a doctor and Nel had read somewhere that they treated both physical and mental wounds. She had probably been through hell

"Kurosaki kun?" Inoue looked up at Ichigo, You came… You all came..." She immediately hugged Ichigo by the waist, bawling just above the Shinigami's belt line. Ichigo look absolutely embarresed as the other men gave him a funny look.

He wagged his head, rotating it like a owl, as if to say "It's not what it looks like!"

"Wow, Ichigo… I didn't know you were such a pervert." Chad teased.

"Inoue! Don't hold me like that."

"What do you mean Kurosaki-Kun?"

Ichigo yelped, then gently helped Inoue to her feet.

"I know its weird! I'm just so happy!" Orihime hugged Ichigo and for once, Ichigo smiled maturely, and patted her on the head.

"I know Inoue…"

Much to his chargain Inoue giggled. "Kurosaki kun is smiling! It must be the Zombie-Robot apocalyspe!"

"What's tha- Nevermind…"

"I thought you'd abandoned me… They told me if I came with them, none of you would be hurt..."

That was when Rukia pinched her.

"Oowie!" Orihime rubbed her arm as Rukia pulled her close.

" _How?"_ Rukia broke into tears, sobbing. "How could you possibly get the idea in your silly little head that we'd let Aizen kidnap you!"

Orihime bowed her head down, mumbling some sort of apology. Ichigo glowered at the short woman but Rukia knelt, then gently grabbed Orihime's chin who wouldn't look her in the eye.

Rukia smiled in spite of herself. "Didn't I tell you? You're tougher then you think you are. How else did you break out?"

That brought the smile back on her face. "It was nothing. You know I'm made of tough stuff! When I was a kid I never caught colds and-"

OOMPH

Rukia ran towards Orihime and embraced her, given the young woman a hug. The funny part was that she was so short that she only reached to her chest but when she went sprinting she had nearly jumped but stopped herself out of self control.

Well kind of. She was sort of gently rocking her back and forth, crying into her chest. Chad joined her, forgetting how uncomfortable his race was supposed to be with affection.

Were all Shinigami and humans like this? Nel understood that civility and intellect was part of it but despite his claims elsewise, Aizen had left the idea of a conscience off to the wayside, purposely preventing them from achieving the pure humanity that had been denied to them. Most of her brethlin had believed him to be their salvation and were devoted to him thusly. But in the end all he wanted was a cult to worship him, toys he created to be thrown away once they had become obsolete and null

Aizen had promised revenge and conquest but that wasn't what Nel wanted. She hope this meant there could now be harmony between worlds, that the stalemate between races would be made into a armistance, then perpetual peace.

Nel also doubted that they could execute her now. If she shared what information she knew and helped out in the final battle, then she was sure that any misun

"Rukia, please I can't breathe, you're gonna smush me in half!"

"I k-know! I'm just so happy you're okay!"

Nel found the scene incredibly adorable. Friends reunited after long odds, countless trials and tribulations, and perilous dangers. She guessed that this meant this story was going to have a happy ending.

"Orihime… I can't breathe…"

Nel attention was turned back to the girls.

Everything went silent for Nel as Espada properly analyzed Inoue. She had done this chigo and Uryu talking to one another, too deep in conversation to Chad and Renji doing some kind of odd jig… Her eyes focused back to the embracing pair.

There was something wrong with the picture she was seeing. If Orihime had escaped, then why was was she wearing different clothes? Even if she had changed afterwords, her new rainment would, no should have been caked with dirt, dust and the blood of any hollow she had to cut through. But then again she didn't know if she escaped after or before the Arrancars left...

Also had did she escape so fast? That was a more pressing issue. Nobody mentioned that she knew any sort of movement technique and Nel had already observed her walking normally before she fell. They were at one of the furthest corners of Las Noches, as fall out in the boonies as it was possible. And she was supposed to believe that she had traveled miles without exausting herself?

A gasp of pain erupted from a shuddering Shinigami.

She could see that Orihime was clutching Riukia… Much too hard. Though just about everything else had gone deaf for her with nothing but the echoing sound of her heartbeat getting through to her ears, she could definitely hear the telltale sound of bones cracking and the reddening of black fabric caused by the scratching nails… _No claws._

Her heart slowed as the pieces were put together.

And she… The way she smiled was much different then the one before. It was too much like Nnoitira for her liking. Then...

 _Aizen… He couldn't have..._

Szayel… Though he could not speak, he contorted the tissue on his face to create a semblance of a smile. That wasn't new. But the way his eyes were twisted in triumph and satisfaction was all the confirmation Nel needed to realize that something was not right with this situation.

Nel Slapped the scientist, sending him tumbling and spinning deep into the dunes. Then, Nel wildly jerked her head back at the pair, as Pequisa revealed her suspicions and turned her fear into panic.

Nel screamed a warning that she couldn't hear out to Rukia as Orihime's cloak was blown off by the winds, revealing her serpentine eyes, said something mocking to Rukia, before flicking her nose.

Golden reiatsu enveloped her face like a shawl as a gargantuan display of force followed by a sickening crack made Rukia fly into a dune.

"RUKIA!" Renji followed after her, digging her out. Then he was struggling to drag her and himself from the collapsing sheet of dead soil, now widening into a sinkhole that might has well have been the gates to Hell for all Nel knew.

It felt like hours before they reacted properly. They froze then shook as if the earth quaked. And the salt rain fell from cloudy sockets.

Nel's attention focused on the rest… Well, Ichigo trembled, Chad cursed and cried as he knelt and wildly beat the ground into dust, no method to his insane illogical display of emotion. His fists were digging a hole the size of a football field all the way to bedrock, the force of the impact parting the great white sea omnidirectionally.

"It can't be, it can't be," he mumbled in a language much similar to their own.

For once the remaining ryoka that were so completely different in personality had silently agreed to one thing.

Orihime Inoue was lost forever

But Inoue, the one her friends had came to rescue, wasn't gone. She was right there, pulling off her hood to reveal a shapeless outfit that twirled loosely around her chest and hips, no better then being in the buff they who had journeyed to a strange alien land to rescue, like the tales of Chivraly she had had read in what seemed like long ago.

But this wouldn't end the way they wanted. Instead of rescuing a princess, they would end their crusade in failure and disgrace, their

Nel had stood still long enough. She grabbed her blade and rushed towards the hollowfied girl. No matter what she was, she wasn't letting the succubus harm her friends. They'd probably hate her forever but she could live with that as long as they were safe.

Clouds of sand were kicked in the air behind her as she met her foe in mortal combat. If the newly made Hollow was afraid, she didn't show any hint of it. Good, she's new. That means the power has gone to her head. It had happened to every Arrancar, even her. That would definitely work in her favor.

The warrior feinted with chop at the head but drew back at the last minute and slashed downwards below the breasts with the other edge of Gamuza. The blade missed as the demon bent backwards, cutting off the front of her half shirt and the very tip of her aeriola. This didn't seem to cause her any pain. Actually the blissful smirk that had emerged showed the exact opposite.

Their swords met in a steel kiss, but somehow hers was harsher, causing Nel to almost crash on her back, nearly losing balance. Now she was the one leading. Nel countered with a parry, then a side and upper block. She was gripping her Zanpakuto so hard, then her skin was started to scrape from the impacts.

"So you're my replacement, huh? I thought it would take longer then that to find another woman with big bouncing breasts. She turned to a frozen Ichigo. Kurosaki-kun I'm hurt! Was I really that useless?"

"You should pay attention!" Nel yelled as she cut just above her navel. But she spun around too fast to properly gut her like a fish.

Orihime's swordplay was wild, more instinctual and free from then the Elder hollow's disciplined and acrobatic swordplay. Orihime saw a opening and cut just below her ribcage. Nel barely blocked it with Gamuza, with the raw strength from Orihime's blow sinking part of her own blade into her flesh.

Orihime's arm seemed locked in place with neither able to get any leverage. Nel thought that was good sign…

… Until Orihime pulled a Tanto from her sleave to stab Nel in the eye.

 _A Arrancar with two swords?_ Nel was confused, but had to shake away her thoughts to continue having them. Nel slid to the left, dropping her sword in the process, She felt blood coming from a wound in her cheek but she couldn't feel it.

Shit! Nel thought to herself. But this worked to her advantage as Orihime now thought she had a opening. But Instead Nel opened her mouth to release a cero.

It landed pointblank into her abdomen, on the underside of her rib cage. However the blast stopped before it completely blew her in half, instead disipating as the blood, viscera and bone that was upturned by the black sank back into her body.

 _What, she can't be that strong! What kind of monster did Aizen create?_

Suddenly Orihime Inoue had disappeared in a flash of light. A quick flicker of Perquisa revealed where she was now. That and the warm breath that she could feel causing intense pressure to the back of her neck.

"I'm bored now. Goodbye."

The prod sent flying through the air, twirling and spinning. Nel felt a sharp pain in her side as she attempted in vain to breathe. When she tried again, frothy blood came rushing to the roof, pouring out of. Nel thought fast on her feet, quickly striving to regain control of her freefall. She twisted her back in a wild jerk, flipping backwards to face the rear. The last step in her on the spot ballet was actually landing on her feet. This happened to be a quite egregious error as the leg she had landed on broke immediately,

 _Damnit!_ She had to continue fighting! Ichigo and the others were at risk if she failed. She tried to stand up but the pain was making the affected leg unusable.

Inoue… Ichigo whimpered his eyes glassed up in shock and horror, as all of Nel's former worst fears were eaten up and replaced with new even more horrifying terror.

She tried to stand again, but only got a few hops in before she she fell once more. She tried to drag herself blood mixing with the sand, and the sand stinging her wounds, every breath filled with bloody spittle. Nelliel vision grew cloudy and blurred meaning that the rib had pierced a lung.

Nel had never felt this weak and helpless.

"Hello Kurosaki-Kun," Inoue-san purred to a horrified Ichigo, carressing his chin with one decievingly delicate hand and catching tears with her opposite finger. " **Do you like my new look?"** She spat out the words at the bewildered and confused teenager her voice low and dangerous, as he shook his head in denial, refusing to see what was right in front in him.

.

.

.

 **I'm sorry Ichigo and Co but your princess is another castle. Are you sure she existed in the first place?**

 **Any one who gets that reference is going to receive a free internet cookie (:**

 **Yeah I know it's been a really long time (at least 5 months at my estimation), I'm trying to get better I swear!**

 **Hopefully I made up for it with the over thirty pages of my diseased brain matter that I like to smear onto the web. And hopefully into your stores pretty soon if god isn't a flying spagetti monster!**

 **I've been debating this for a while and I think I should start listing what I thought is a good atmospheric addition with the ST I listen too.**

 **So in order…**

 **1\. Nagisa**

 **2\. The place where wishes come true.**

 **3\. White Noiz**

 **4\. Heavens Night**

 **Also for those of you wondering why Orihime chose a brown cloak for her new outfit, it's more a less a cruel shadow of what Ichigo did in the Soul Society Arc.**

 **Since I've already started the next 6 or so chapters of this story along with properly planning out new and old ones, hopefully my pace should quicken.**

 **Don't quote me on that, you guys know how my mind gets.**

 **If you like it leave a review, if you don't like it leave a review anyway so I can get better. Like always thank you for the support!**

 **EDIT: Sorry for the crappy grammar. I was so excited to be back that I didn't check my writing properly or wait for my beta reader to get back. I gave you guys a unfinished product. Hopefully you guys will forgive me. ):**


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